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HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 


VOL,    I. 


HISTORY  OF  IRELAND 

FROM    THE    EARLIEST   TIMES 
TO   THE  PRESENT   DAY 

BY 

REV.    E.   A.   D'ALTON,  M.R.I.A.^ 

IN  THREE    VOLUMES 

VOLUME  I. 
From  the  Eadie«tTimes  to  the  Year  1547 


COND    EDITION. 


WITH      MAPS. 

BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBKARY 

CHESTNUT  HILL.  ^.asB. 

NEW     YORK,     CINCINNATI,     CHICAGO: 

Benziger  Brothers, 

Printers   to    the    Holy    Apostolic    See. 

1907. 


PRINTED   BT 

6EALY,   BRTERS  AND   WALKEK, 

MIDDLE  ABBET  STK.EBT, 

DUBLIN. 


PREFACE. 


-0-i:>0- 


SoME  people  may  be  disposed  to  ask  if  there  were  real  need  of 
a  new  History  of  Ireland,  seeing  that  there  are  so  many  already 
in  the  hands  of  the  public.  Yet  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  find  a  really  good  history  of  our  country — what  might  be  fairly 
described  as  an  all-round  good  history — full,  accurate,  well-written 
and  impartial.  If  the  Rev.  Mr.  D' Alton  has  not  yet  accomplished 
this  task,  he  has  certainly  made  a  praiseworthy  beginning.  This 
is  the  first  volume  of  what  is  intended  to  be  a  three  volume  work, 
giving  a  complete  history  of  Ireland  from  its -remotest  origins 
down  to  our  own  time.  It  is  an  ambitious  task,  which  cannot 
be  accomplished  without  much  learning,  courage  and  perseverance. 
There  are,  perhaps,  some  who  might  think  it  would  have  been 
wiser  for  Father  D'Alton  to  have  devoted  himself  to  writing  a 
complete  history  of  his  native  Province  or  his  native  Diocese, 
which  he  is  certainly  well  qualified  to  do.  We  earnestly  hope 
that  he  may  be  induced  to  undertake  such  a  work  hereafter,  for 
the  first  volume  of  this  general  history  gives  evidence  that  he 
possesses  many  of  the  most  essential  qualities  of  an  historical 
writer.  His  style  is  easy  and  limpid  ;  in  description,  as  well  as 
in  narration,  he  is  vivid  and  frequently  picturesque  ;  he  possesses 
the  critical  faculty  in  a  high  degree,  and  holds  the  scales  of 
historical  justice  with  an  even  hand.  Moreover,  he  is  a  pains- 
taking writer  in  verifying  his  authorities ;  he  has  the  great 
advantage  of  a  good  knowledge  of  the  Gaelic  tongue,  which  enables 
him  to  consult  for  himself  the  original  sources  of  our  earlier  history  ; 
and  he  has  not  failed  to  utilise  all  the  State  Papers  and  other 
official  documents,  which  the^^nmQteejitb  century  has  produced 
in   such    profusion.  .JL  U  i  ':!  %} 


PREFACE. 

Like  all  other  writers  on  the  earlier  history  of  Ireland,  he  has 
had  to  face  the  great  difficulty  of  adopting  a  uniform  system  for 
spelling  Irish  proper  names,  and  in  this  matter  he  has  not,  we 
think,  always  succeeded,  for  the  forms  he  uses  are  sometimes 
rather  strange,  if  not,  indeed,  uncouth.  But  this  is  a  matter  that 
can  be  easily  corrected  in  a  second  edition. 

The  time  is  eminently  favourable  for  such  a  work  as  this. 
The  Gaelic  revival  is  still  a  rising  tide,  and  young  Irishmen,  and 
Irishwomen  also,  are  anxiously  seeking  for  authoritative  information 
on  the  history,  the  literature,  the  language,  and  the  antiquities 
of  their  country.  Here  they  will  find  a  work  that  will  go  far  to 
satisfy  their  requirements  in  these  respects,  and  we  have  no  doubt 
that  many  of  them  will  eagerly  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities 
that  it  offers.  Father  D 'Alton  bears  a  name  not  unknown  in 
historical  studies.  He  deserves  personally  great  credit  for  devoting 
himself  with  so  much  ardour  to  the  study  of  his  country's  history, 
in  the  midst  of  his  hard  labours  as  a  missionary  priest.  We  earnestly 
hope  the  favourable  reception  of  this  first  volume  of  his  history 
will  encourage  him  to  complete  the  work,  and  in  this  we  should 
naturally  expect  for  him  the  sympathy  and  co-operation  of  all 
his  fellow-countrymen,    and   especially   of   his   brother   priests. 

15.JOHN   HEALY, 

Archbishop   of  Tuam. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter. 

I.  Introductory. 

II.  The  Earliest  Inhabitants  of  Ireland. 

III.  The  Melisians. 

IV.  Pre-Christian  Civilisation. 
V.  St.  Patrick. 

VI.  Progress  of  Religion  and  Learning. 

VII.  The  First  Christian  Kings. 

VIII.  The  Danish  Invasions. 

IX.  The  Dalcassian  Kings. 

X.  A  Long  Period  of  Discord. 

XI,  Decay  of  Religion  and  Learning. 

XII.  Cultivation  and  Condition  of  the  Arts 

XIII.  The  Anglo-Norman  Invasion.  . . 

XIV.  Henry  II.  in  Ireland. 
XV.  Progress  of  the  Invaders. 

XVI.  The  O'Connors  of  Connaught. 

XVII.  King  John  in  Ireland. 

XVIII.  Long-Continued  Turmoil. 

XIX.  The  Anglo-Normans  and  the  Church 

XX.  The  Invasion  of  Bruce. 

XXI.  The  English  Colonists  Turn  Irish. 

XXII.  The  Statute  of  Kilkenny, 

XXIII.  A  Heroic  Leinster  Chief. 

XXIV.  Decay  of  English  Power. 
XXV.  In  The  Reign  of  Henry  VII. 

XXVI^  The  Geraldines. 

XXVII.  The  Folly  of  Silken  Thomas. 

XXVIII.  Henry  Becomes  King  of  Ireland 

XXIX.  The  Reformation  in  Ireland. 


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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S^^^^S^^^^i^^^^ 


K^!^^^^!^^i:^^j^^j^^^^i^^^^j^^^^^^^&^^ 


HISTORY   OF   IRELAND, 


aSSe-^SOS'^- 


CHAPTER    I. 

Introductory. 

To  what  extent  Ireland  was  known  to  the  Ancients — To  the  Phoenicians — 
Herodotus — Festus  Avienus  —  Pliny  —  Strabo  —  Caesar  —  Ptolemy — 
Tacitus — Its  various  names. 

The  Phoenicians  at  an  early  age,  perhaps  as  early  as  the  foundation 
of  Carthage  (the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  B.C.)  had  planted 
colonies  on  the  shores  of  Spain.  These  colonists,  filled  with  the 
adventurous  spirit  of  their  ancestors,  had  passed  beyond  the 
Pillars  of  Hercules,  reached  Britain,  and  discovered  the  tin  mines 
at  its  southern  extremity.  To  supply  from  these  newly  dis- 
covered mines  the  ports  of  the  Mediterranean  with  tin,  they 
found  to  be  a  lucrative  employment,  especially  as  long  as  they 
enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  the  trade.  To  preserve  that  monopoly 
they  kept  the  position  of  Britain  a  secret,  and  all  that  other 
nations  knew  either  of  Britain  or  Ireland  was  that  in  some  far 
distant  part  of  the  Western  seaweretheCassiterides  or  Tin  Islands, 
so  distant  and  difificult  of  access  that  only  Phoenician  energy  and 
skill  in  navigation  could  reach  them.  At  a  later  date,  Herodotus 
had  heard  that  towards  the  north-west  of  Europe  there  was  a 
river  called  Eridanus,  which  emptied  itself  into  the  sea  and  from 
which  amber  was  said  to  come,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  believe 
that  there  was  any  sea  on  that  side  of  Europe,  and,  as  to  the 
Cassiterides  or  Tin  Islands,  he  had  heard  of  them  and  knew  they 
supplied  the  south  of  Europe  with  tin,  but  of  their  position  he 
had  no  knowledge.  Both  Britain  and  Ireland  were  shrouded  in 
impenetrable  gloom,  and  on  the  map  of  the  world  as  known   to 


2  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

him  they  found  no  place.*  The  Carthaginians  were  as  daring, 
as  skilful  in  navigation,  and  as  keenly  anxious  to  acquire  wealth 
by  commerce  as  their  kinsmen  of  Spain  or  Phoenicia,  and  in  an 
expedition  under  Hamilco  they  discovered  those  famous  Tin 
Islands  which  they  had  long  sought  for  in  vain.  And,  as  a 
result,  Festus  Avienus  wrote  a  description  of  the  maritime  coasts 
of  the  Atlantic  (350  B.C.),  and  declared  that  at  a  distance  of  two 
days'  sail  from  Britain  was  the  sacred  Isle  of  the  Plibernians.f 
The  Greek  colonists  of  Marseilles  followed  in  the  wake  of 
the  Carthaginians,  and  the  Romans  followed  the  Greeks, 
but  what  the  Romans  knew  of  Ireland  was  little.  Pliny 
maintained  |  that  it  was  part  of  Britain  and  not  a  distinct 
island,  and  that  in  length  it  was  600  miles  and  that  its  breadth 
was  just  half  its  length.  The  statement  of  Strabo,  who  wrote  in 
Greek,  is  that  there  are  some  islands  round  Britain,  one  of  great 
extent  called  lerna,  lying  parallel  to  it  towards  the  north,  but  that 
he  had  nothing  certain  to  relate  about  it  except  that  its  inhabitants 
are  more  savage  than  the  Britons,  feeding  on  human  flesh,  and 
enormous  eaters,  deeming  it  commendable  to  devour  their 
deceased  fathers  and  having  intercourse  with  their  sisters  and 
even  with  their  mothers. |1  How  little  worthy  of  credence  this 
statement  is,  can  be  gathered  from  his  own  words,  for  he  relates 
it  "  perhaps  without  any  very  competent  authority  "  and  because 
"  to  eat  human  flesh  is  said  to  be  a  Scythian  custom."  Caesar 
came  nearer  to  Ireland  than  either  of  these  writers,  yet  he  knew 
but  little  of  it  and  all  he  could  say  was  that  it  was  an  island 
situated  to  the  west  of  Britain  and  about  half  its  size.**  Of  its 
coast-line,  of  its  harbours  and  bays,  of  its  climate  and  soil,  of  its 
productions,  of  its  inhabitants  and  of  their  cannibalism  and 
immorality,  of  which  Strabo  writes — on  all  these  subjects  he  is 
silent. 

The  scattered  rays  of  light  which  had  been  cast  on  Western 
Europe  by  his  predecessors  enabled  Ptolemy  to  repeat  the  infor- 
mation given  us  by  Caesar.  But  he  does  little  more  than  this, 
and  on  his  map  the  position  of  Ireland  is  inaccurately  given. 
He  places  it  too  far  north,  so  that  its  extreme  south  is  farther 
north  than  the  northernmost  point  of  Wales.  The  Cassiterides^ 
or  Tin  Islands,  meant  perhaps  for  the  Scilly  Isles,  are  placed 
hard  by  the  north  coast  of  Spain,  and  far  distant  from  the  south 
coast  of  Britain,  and  North  Britain,  or  Scotland,  is  bent  east, 
and  no  part  of    it  is  as  far  north  as  the  northernmost  part  of 

*  Herodotus i  Book  III .5  Chap.   115; 

t  Lingard's  History  of  England  (10  vols.),  Vol.  I.,  p.    17; 

X  Pliny.     Book  IV.,  Chap.   30. 

I!  Straboj  Geography^  Book  iv.>  Chap.  5; 

■**  Caesar  J  De  Bella  Gallico.     Book  V. 


INTRODUCTORY.  3 

Ireland.  And  the  coast-line  of  Ireland  is  very  inaccurately 
defined.  That  portion  of  the  south-west  which  advances  into  the 
Atlantic  is  wanting  ;  there  is  no  trace  of  Galway  Bay  or  the 
mouth  of  the  Shannon  ;  Donegal  Bay  is  but  imperfectly  apparent, 
nor  is  there  any  part  of  Ireland  which  corresponds  to  Ptolemy's 
northern  promontary,  which  juts  out  into  the  Atlantic,  sharp 
and  narrow.* 

Agricola  marched  farther  north  than  any  who  went  before 
him  ;  the  Caledonian  coast  looking  towards  Ireland  was  lined 
with  his  troops  ;  and  he  entertained  thoughts  of  conquering 
Ireland  itself,  believing  that  it  would  contribute  to  the  tranquility 
of  Britain.  For  the  Britons,  he  thought,  would  lose  courage 
and  cease  to  fight,  when  they  saw  the  last  refuge  of  liberty  in 
the  West  invaded,  and  Ireland  reduced  to  the  position  of  a  Roman 
province,  the  last  spark  of  liberty  would  be  extinguished  round 
their  coasts.  He  had  parleyed  with  an  Irish  chief,  who,  like 
MacMurrogh  at  a  later  age,  had  been  expelled  from  his  own 
country  and  sought  in  his  difficulties  for  aid  from  foreign  arms. 
From  the  information  supplied  by  this  exiled  chief,  added  to 
what  the  Romans  already  knew,  Tacitus  was  able  to  say  that 
Ireland  was  less  in  size  than  Britain,  but  larger  than  any  island 
in  the  Mediterranean,  that  its  coasts  and  harbours  were  well 
known  to  foreign  merchants  and  traders,  and  that  in  soil  and 
climate,  in  the  manners  and  genius  of  its  inhabitants,  it  differed 
little  from  Britain.  But  his  placing  it  between  Britain  and  Spain 
shows  how  inaccurate  was  his  knowledge  of  its  true  position 
and  how  little  the  Romans  had  explored  these  Western  islands 
and  seas.f 

Among  ancient  writers  Festus  Avienus  alone  speaks  of  the 
Sacred  Isle  of  the  Hibernians,  but  in  what  the  isle  was  sacred 
does  not  appear.  Diodorus  Siculus  gave  it  the  name  of  Irin  and 
a  modern  historian  (Lingard)  suggests  that  the  word  irin  may 
be  confounded  with  ieran,  signifying  sacred  in  the  Greek  lan- 
guage. By  Strabo,  and  long  after  him  by  Claudian,  Ireland 
was  called  lerna,  by  Ptolemy,  louerna,  and  by  Solinus,  Juverna, 
and  by  Orpheus  of  Cortona,  lernia,  all  of  which  names  are  plainly 
deducible  from  a  common  source.  The  transition  from  these 
words  to  Hibernia  is  very  easy  and  natural,  though  the  form 
used  by  St.  Patrick,  viz.,  Hiberione,  is  peculiar  and  rarely  used. 
It  was  the  opinion  of  Camden  that  lerna,  or  Hibernia,  signifies 
a  Western  country  and  there  is  undoubtedly  an  Irish  word — 
lar — which   means  west ;   others  derive  the  name  from   Heber, 

^  Vid.  Ancient  Classical  Atlases-. 

\  TacituSj  Agricola.  Chap.  xxiv.  Perhaps  his  thus  placing  Ireland 
accounts  for  the  following  words — "  melius  aditus  portusque  per  commercia 
et  negotiatores  cogniti." 


4  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

one  of  the  sons  of  Milesius  ;  others  still  afifirm  that  the  word  is 
of  Phoenician  origin  and  signifies  the  remotest  habitation.  With 
sound  sense,  Ware  has  observed,*  that  these  observations  on  the 
etymology  of  the  w^ord  are  so  much  guess-work,  that  to  give  a 
true  account  of  the  name  is  difficult,  and  that,  for  himself,  he 
would  affirm  nothing  positive,  but  leave  the  matter  undeter- 
mined. 

For  ages,  down  to  the  eleventh  century,  Ireland  bore  the 
name  of  Scotia,  a  name  which  is  often  derived  from  a  Scythian 
source,  the  opinion  being  that  if  the  Scythians  were  not  the  first 
of  its  inhabitants,  they  were  at  least  among  the  first,  and  have 
thus  left  their  impress  on  its  name.  But  there  are  others  who 
thmk  the  name  Scotia  comes  from  Scota,  the  wife  of  Gadelius, 
a  lady  who  is  reputed  to  be  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  wnile  there 
are  yet  others  who  hold  the  opinion  that  the  word  comes  from 
the  Greek  word  aKorog,  which  signifies  darkness,  possibly,  says 
Harris,  because  of  its  dark  aspect,  being  anciently  overgrown 
with  woods.  Another  name  which  it  bore,  and  which  still  sur- 
vives in  a  slightly  altered  form,  was  Irlandia,  which  is  taken 
to  mean  the  land  of  Ir,  the  first  of  the  sons  of  Milesius,  who  was 
buried  in  the  island.  It  was  also  called  Fidh-Innis,  or  woody 
island,  and  Innis-Elga,  from  the  name  borne  by  the  wife  of 
Parthalon.  By  Plutarch,  and  after  him  by  O'Flaherty,  the 
island  was  called  Ogygia,  a  word  which  signifies  very  ancient, 
and  if,  says  Camden,  what  the  Irish  writers  relate  be  credited, 
Ireland  was  not  without  good  reason  called  Ogygia  by  Plutarch, 
for  the  Irish  begin  their  histories  from  the  earliest  accounts  of 
time,  so  that,  in  comparison,  the  antiquity  of  all  other  countries 
is  in  its  infancy .f 

The  last  name  that  need  be  mentioned  is  Innisfail,  a  name 
which,  in  poetry  especially,  has  survived.  This  name  it  got  from 
a  fatal  stone  called  Liafail,  which  was  carried  to  Ireland  by  the 
Tuatha  de  Dannaans.  It  was  called  the  stone  of  destiny  and 
upon  it  kings  of  the  Scythian  race  were  always  crowned.  Long 
preserved  in  Ireland  with  the  greatest  care,  it  was  taken  to 
Scotland  at  a  date  not  known.  At  Scone,  in  that  country,  it 
long  continued,  and  each  Scottish  king  was  crowned  upon  it, 
until,  finally,  it  was  carried  (1296)  to  Westminster,  where  it 
was  made  part  of  the  coronation  chair,  and  has  been  so  used 
since  then.  The  Liafail  was  the  stone  of  destiny,  and  the  island 
in  which  it  was  first  preserved  and  venerated  was  the  Isle  of 
Destiny,  or  Innisfail. J 

*■  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II.;  p.  3. 
f  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II.,  p.  9. 
I  Ibidem^  p.    10. 


CHAPTER    II. 

The  Earliest  Inhabitants  of  Ireland. 

Different  Colonies — The  Migdonians — The  Nemedians — The  Fomorians — 
The  Dannaans — The  Firbolgs. 

The  story  that  Ireland  was  peopled  before  the  Deluge  may  be 
set  down  as  a  fiction,  and  the  story  that  it  was  peopled  in  the 
time  of  Abraham  almost  equally  improbable.  This  Colony,  it 
is  said,  came  from  Migdonia,  or  Macedonia  in  Greece,  numbered 
looo  and  was  under  the  leadership  of  Parthalon.  For  three 
centuries  they  occupied  Ireland,  and  then  the  whole^  colony, 
numbering  2000,  perished  of  a  plague.  In  the  pathetic  words 
of  one  historian  "  not  one  was  left  alive  ";  _  and  this  is  all  the 
chroniclers  have  to  say  of  Parthalon  and  his  people. 

For  thirty  years  the  land  was  uninhabited  and  then  a  fresh 
colony  came.  Keating  says*  that  the  new-comers  were  related 
to  their  predecessors,  the  Migdonians,  and  spoke  the  same  tongue, 
that  they  came  by  sea,  starting  from  the  Euxine  in  34  vessels, 
each  vessel  manned  by  30  persons,  the  whole  expedition  being 
under  Nemedius,  who  was  eleventh  in  descent  from  Noah.  They 
landed  at  Inverscene,  in  the  West  of  Munster,  about  B.C.  1900. 
While  they  occupied  the  country  they  cut  down  and  cleared 
several  forests,  built  several  forts,  and  fought  several  battles.  If 
such  a  people  existed  at  all,  all  this  may  be  readily  believed,  but 
when  we  are  furthermore  gravely  assured  that  in  their  time 
several  lakes  burst  forth,  it  is  natural  that  scepticsim  should 
begin  to  assert  itself.  There  is  indeed  an  old  tradition  that  at 
some  remote  period  Lough  Neagh  has  been  thus  formed,  and 
this  tradition  may  have  some  foundation  in  fact,  but,  as  to  any 
other  lake  in  Ireland  being  at  any  time  so  formed,  both  history 
and  tradition  are  mute.  That  several  places  were  cleared  of  the 
trees  with  which  they  were  covered  is  not  unlikely,  for  Ireland 
abounded  in  forests  and  if  these  Nemedians  lived  by  agriculture 
the  land  should  necessarily  be  cleared  before  it  was  tilled.      If 

»  History  of  Ireland  (O'Connor's  Trans.)^  p.  73; 


6  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

they  were  shepherds  the  same  necessity  existed,  for  they  should 
have  a  free  passage  from  one  district  to  another  so  as  to  have 
the  desired  change  of  pasture  for  their  flocks  and  herds.  And 
they  should  also  erect  forts  or  strong  places.  In  a  primitive 
society,  where  law  is  not  respected  and  force  is  the  rule  of  human 
justice,  it  becomes  necessary  that  men  should  combine  for  mutual 
protection  and  defence.  The  savage,  as  well  as  the  civilized, 
have  their  women  and  children  to  guard,  and  must  have  a  place  of 
strength  and  safety  which  they  can  easily  defend  against  external 
assault,  and  from  the  shelter  of  which  they  can  issue  forth  and 
attack  their  foes.  And  certain  it  is  that  wars  were  among  them. 
The  passions  from  which  conflicts  spring  are  not  peculiar  to 
primitive  man,  and  amongst  all  nations  there  have  been  wars. 
Yet,  if  these  Nemedians  fought  among  themselves  and  wasted 
their  strength  in  internal  discord,  it  suited  them  ill,  for  their 
united  energies  were  required  against  a  formidable  foe. 

These  enemies,  who  incessantly  attacked  them,  were  a  people 
called  the  Fomorians.  It  is  the  opinion  of  O'Flaherty*  that 
they  were  from  Norway  and  Denmark  ;  Keating  f  is  sure  they 
were  from  Africa  ;  both  agree  that  they  were  pirates  whose 
constant  business  was  war  and  whose  invariable  object  was 
plunder.  They  lived ,  says  the  "  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise,"  by 
piracy  and  plunder  of  other  nations,  and  were  very  troublesome 
to  the  whole  world."  |  The  testimony  of  Cambrensis  is  worth 
little,  but  it  is  that  they  were  giants  who  were  continually  making 
devastations  in  Ireland.  II  As  early  as  the  days  of  Parthalon 
they  are  said  to  have  fought  with  his  people  near  Lough  Swilly, 
in  Donegal.  At  Roscommon,  at  Camross,  in  Carlow,  at  Dal- 
riadia,  in  Antrim,  they  fought  with  the  Nemedians,  who  each 
time  were  the  victors.  But  when  Nemedius  was  dead  and  his 
people  without  a  capable  leader,  the  Fomorians  renewed  the 
attack.  The  battle  between  the  rival  armies  was  so  obstinate 
and  bloody  that  they  almost  annihilated  each  other.  Victory 
remained  with  the  Fomorians,  and  now,  says  the  indignant 
historian  (Keating),  these  vagabond  Africans  entirely  subdued 
the  old  inhabitants  and  made  them  tributaries. 

The  small  number  of  the  Nemedians  who  remained  were 
treated  so  harshly  by  their  Fomorian  masters,  that  the  greater 
part  of  them  finally  left  Ireland  and  went  back  to  Greece.  But 
hard  as  their  lot  in  Ireland  was,  in  Greece  it  was  worse  still.  Their 
Grecian  masters  compelled  them — so  runs  the  tale — to  dig  clay 
in  the  fertile  valleys,  to  fill  it  in  leathern  bags — whence  their 

*  Ogygioi  Part  lll.j  Chap.  56. 
■f  History,  p.  yj^ 

X  p.  IS- 

li  Topography,  Distinction  lll.j  Chap.  3; 


THE   EARLIEST   INHABITANTS   OF   IRELAND.  7 

new  name  of  Firbolgs — and  to  carry  these  bags  of  clay  up  the 
mountains,  so  that  the  sides  and  summits  of  these  mountains 
might  be  turned  from  barrenness  to  fertihty.*  After  200  years 
of  miserable  servitude,  they  escaped  from  their  hard  task-masters, 
fitted  out  a  number  of  vessels  and  arrived  in  Ireland  about  B.C. 
1300.  The  whole  country  fell  into  their  hands,  but  they  were 
not  destined  to  possess  it  long  in  peace,  for  another  race,  more 
powerful  still,  soon  came  to  conquer  and  to  rule. 

These  were  the  Dannaans,  or  the  Tuatha-de-Dannaans,t  to 
give  them  their  name  in  full,  a  branch  of  the  ancient  Nemedian 
colony,  who  left  Ireland  about  the  same  time  as  the  Firbolgs. 
They  went  first  to  Denmark,  thence  to  the  north  of  Scotland, 
and  finally  landed  in  Ireland,  about  30  years  after  their  Firbolg 
kin.  It  was  at  Moytura,  in  Mayo,  that  the  issue  was  decided 
between  these  rival  races.  The  Firbolgs  were  defeated  but  not 
annihilated.  Some  mingled  their  blood  with  the  Dannaans, 
some  were  left  in  a  position  of  suffragan  authority,  others  crossed 
over  the  sea  to  the  Isles  of  Arran,  where  for  long  after  they  ruled. 
Tradition  still  points  to  the  old  stone  fort  of  Dun-Engus  as  the 
work  of  their  hands,  a  building  rudely  but  strongly  built  which 
after  the  lapse  of  so  many  centuries  still  stands. 

Should  anyone  assert  that  the  accounts  of  these  various 
invaders — their  voyages,  their  wanderings  and  their  battles — 
are  nothing  more  than  fables,  he  might  easily  be  accused  of 
temerity,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  should  anyone  accept  all  these 
stories  in  full  and  write  them  down  as  history,  he  might  as 
easily  be  accused  of  being  over-credulous.  In  regard  to  the 
Fomorians  their  very  existence  is  at  least  doubtful,  and 
may  even  be  denied.  The  tendency  of  a  people  is  to 
advance  in  knowledge  with  the  advance  of  time,  and  if 
these  Northmen  (assuming  that  they  were  from  Denmark)  knew 
enough  of  navigation  and  war  to  fight  and  conquer  in  Ireland 
as  they  are  said  to  have  done,  and  this  fifteen  centuries  before 
the  Christian  era,  they  should  have  been  in  the  ninth  century 
of  the  Christian  era  comparatively  civilized.  Yet  at  that  date 
we  find  them,  i.e.,  the  Danes,  the  most  brutal  of  savages,  living 
upon  piracy  and  plunder  and  having  the  utmost  contempt  for 
the  civilized  institutions  of  more  southern  lands.  As  to  Africa — 
Egypt  especially — it  is  unquestioned  that  even  in  the  most 
ancient  times  that  country  had  attained  a  high  degree  of  culture, 
and  no  doubt  among  the  sciences  she  knew,  navigation  was  one. 
But  it  is  very  doubtful  if  her  ships  sailed  outside  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  there  is  very  slender  probability  that  at  any  time 
her  sons  made  the  acquaintance  of  Ireland,  either  in  commerce 

*  Keating,  p.  82. 

t  Ogygia,  Part  III.,  Chap.  10.     Annals  of  the  Four  Mastersi 


8  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

or  in  war.  And  whatever  be  the  birth-place  of  the  Fomorians, 
if  they  lived  in  Ireland  as  undisputed  rulers  for  over  two  centuries, 
they  ought  to  have  left  some  lasting  monument  of  their  existence. 
Yet,  except  some  vague  and  shadowy  traditions,  and  the  per- 
petuation of  their  name  in  connection  with  the  Giant's  Causeway, 
they  have  left  nothing  as  an  inheritance  to  after  times.  And  the 
Nemedians,  if  regarded  in  the  same  light  as  the  Fomorains,  will 
suffer  little  injustice.  Their  wanderings  and  battles  are  sustained 
by  no  probability,  and  may  be  classed  with  the  expedition  of 
Jason  in  search  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  or  the  wanderings  of  ^neas 
over  land  and  sea. 

The  origin  of  the  Firbolgs  is  lost  in  darkness  impervious  to 
the  light  of  history,  but  we  may  regard  their  peculiar  labours 
in  Greece  and  their  journey  to  Ireland  as  nothing  more  than 
the  embellishments  of  fiction.  They  ought  not,  however,  be 
classed  with  the  Fomorians  or  Nemedians,  as  their  claim  to 
existence  rests  upon  more  solid  grounds.  Like  the  Dannaans, 
they  have  always  been  regarded  as  a  real  people,  and,  in  parts 
of  Ireland,  there  are  still  existing  monuments  which  tradition 
has  persistently  associated  with  their  name. 

Efforts  have  been  made  to  ascertain  what  the  race  was  to 
which  these  Firbolgs  belonged,  and  for  this  purpose  Dr.  Wilde 
had  recourse  to  ethnology.  Skeletons  long  buried  in  the  earth 
were  dug  up,  and  also  implements  of  a  very  ancient  and  very 
primitive  kind.  With  the  zeal  of  an  antiquarian  and  the  skill 
of  an  anatomist,  Wilde  examined  these  ancient  remains.  Com- 
paring in  particular  the  conformation  of  the  skulls,  he  concluded 
that  the  Firbolgs  were  Teutonic,  small,  lively,  with  aquiline 
noses,  dark  complexions  and  heads  of  great  length  from  front 
to  back.  He  also  concludes  that  they  used  stone  and  flint  hatchets, 
shell  ornaments,  stone  mills  and  clay  urns,  that  they  came  from 
Norway  and  Sweden  :  and  that  the  Dannaans  were  Celts,  who 
used  bronze  in  their  weapons  and  instruments.*  His  industry 
and  research  were  considerable,  but  his  data  were  insufficient, 
his  arguments  are  inconclusive,  he  takes  too  much  for  granted 
and  his  conclusions  are  therefore  unreliable.  In  the  living  subject, 
apart  from  peculiarities  of  dress  or  language,  men  of  different 
races  may  easily  be  distinguished,  and  in  the  dead  subject  the 
flat-nosed  negro  of  the  African  desert  will  scarcely  be  confounded 
with  the  dweller  on  the  Yang-tse-Kiang.  But  the  difficulty  is 
great  when  we  have  nothing  but  the  skeletons  of  men  belonging 
to  kindred  types  of  the  human  family,  and  the  difficulty  is  greater 
still  when  these  skeletons  have  been  buried  in  the  earth  for 
centuries,  for  in  much  less  time  the  original  peculiarities  of  these 

*  Davis's  Essays^  p.  84.  Dr.  Wilde,  afterwards  Sir  W.  Wilde,  wrote 
"  Lough  Corrib  "  and  "  The  Beauties  of  the  Boyne  and  Blackvvater." 


THE   EARLIEST   INHABITANTS   OF  IRELAND.  9 

human  bones  would  become  so  blurred  and  indistinct  as  to  baffle 
the  best  efforts  of  comparative  anatomy. 

With  at  least  equal  plausibility,  it  may  be  conjectured  that 
these  Firbolgs  were  Celts.  They  are  frequently  spoken  of  as 
Belgae,  and  it  is  significant  that  in  the  time  of  Csesar,  a  Celtic 
people  bearing  the  same  name  were  to  be  found  both  in  Britain 
and  Gaul.  In  Britain  they  dwelt  on  the  south  and  south- 
eastern coast.  In  Gaul  they  dwelt  on  the  shores  of  the  English 
Channel,  between  the  Seine  and  Rhine,*  forming  a  most  effective 
barrier  against  the  encroachments  of  the  German  barbarians. 
It  would  not  be  surprising  that  this  adventurous  and  daring 
people,  who  crossed  over  to  Britain  and  settled  there,  should 
penetrate  further  north  and  pass  across  to  Ireland.  This  much 
might  be  expected  from  a  people  whose  prowess  was  respected 
and  feared  throughout  Gaul,  and  whose  desperate  valour  all 
but  overwhelmed  the  legions  of  Caesar  on  the  banks  of  the  Axona.  f 

If  it  is  impossible  to  fix  with  exactitude  the  race  to  which 
the  Firbolgs  belonged,  it  is  equally  so  with  the  Dannaans.  They 
may  have  been  Teutonic  or  Celtic  ;  it  is  impossible  to  say.  That 
they  came  to  Ireland  after  the  Firbolgs  and  before  the  Christian 
era  and  that  they  lived  and  ruled  there,  and  that  the  sepulchral 
monuments  of  Dowth  and  New  Grange  |  are  the  work  of  their 
hands,  it  is  safer  perhaps  to  admit  than  deny.  By  the  Firbolgs 
they  were  regarded  as  magicians,  but  this  goes  to  show  not  that 
they  were  magicians,  but  that  their  knowledge  was  superior  to 
that  of  the  Firbolgs  themselves.  It  is  the  peculiar  tribute  which 
ignorance  pays  to  superior  knowledge.  All  else  about  them 
is  wrapped  in  obscurity — the  country  from  which  they  came, 
the  manner  of  their  coming,  the  battles  they  fought,  the  kings 
who  ruled  over  them,  the  chieftains  who  led  them  to  battle. 

It  is  matter  for  regret  that  Caesar,  when  in  Britain,  did  not 
cross  over  to  Ireland,  or  that  Agricola  did  not  attempt  to  carry 
out  his  boastful  threat  that  he  would  conquer  the  whole  island 
with  a  single  legion. ||  We  should  then  have  valuable  information 
about  the  country  and  its  inhabitants  from  the  pen  of  Cssar 
or  Tacitus,  historical  truth  would  have  gained  and  we  should  have 
light  to  see  our  way,  instead  of  having  to  grope  in  the  dark  with 
conjecture  as  our  deceptive  guide. 

*  Csesar,  De  Bella  Gallico,  Lib.  I.,  Chap.  I. 

t  Caesar,-  De  Bello  Gallico,  Lib.  II.,  Cap.  5  to  9.  The  ambassadors  of 
the  Remi  declared  to  Csesar  (De  Bello  Gallico,  Lib.  il.j  Cap.  4)  that  the 
Belgae  had  sprung  from  the  Germans,  but  they  had  then  been  absorbed 
by  the  Celts.     Perhaps  they  might  best  be  described  as  Celts,  but  not  Gauls. 

+  These  monuments  are  on  the  Boyne  in  Meath,  are  manifestly 
sepulchral,  and  have  interior  chambers  such  as  the  Egyptian  Pyramids. 

II  Tacitus,  Agricola^  Cap.  24.  "  Saepe  ex  eo  audivi  (says  Tacitus) 
legione  una  et  modicis  auxiliis  debellari  obtinerique  Hiberniam  posse." 
Apparently  Agricola  had  a  poor  opinion  of  what  resistance  the  Irish  could 
offer,  or  a  very  extravagant  opinion  of  what  a  Roman  legion  could  do. 


CHAPTER    III. 

The    Milesians. 

The  Scythians.  Their  leaders — Feniursa — Gadelius — Milesius — Settled  in 
Spain — Arrival  in  Ireland — Battle  between  Milesians  and  Dannaans — 
Milesian  Kings  of  Ireland.     Olave  Fola — Con-Cormac — Nial. 

We  may  conjecture  but  cannot  determine  what  were  the 
boundaries  of  Ancient  Scythia,  and  what  was  the  great  branch 
of  the  hum-an  family  from  which  the  Scythians  sprang.  Perhaps, 
these  different  tribes,  scattered  over  such  an  extent  of  territory, 
belonged  to  a  common  parent  stock,  or,  perhaps,  they  were 
nothing  more  than  a  confederation  of  barbaric  tribes,  similar 
in  habits  and  occupations,  but  bound  together,  more  by  the 
bonds  of  common  interests  and  common  dangers,  than  by  the 
memory  of  a  common  origin.  If  they  had  a  common  origin, 
it  is  purely  a  matter  of  speculation,  whether  they  belong  to  the 
Mongolian  or  Aryan  family,  but  it  is  worth  noting  that  Gibbon* 
speaks  of  them  as  Scythians,  or  Tartars,  as  if  he  would  trace 
their  descent  to  a  Mongolian  source.  It  is  probable  that  in 
very  ancient  times  these  tribes  were  scattered  over  the  steppes 
of  Central  Asia  ;  it  is  certain  that,  before  the  time  of  Herodotus, 
they  were  to  be  found  in  Europe,  where  their  homes  were  spread 
along  the  Euxine,  from  the  Danube  to  the  Caucasus  ;  whilst 
in  Asia,  they  had  occupied  the  vast  districts,  northward  from 
the  40th  degree  of  latitude,  and  east  and  west  from  the  Caspian 
to  the  Sea  of  Japan.  These  Scythians  were  a  pastoral  people. 
By  day  they  attended  to  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  when  night 
came,  they  retired  within  the  shelter  of  temporary  encampments, 
where  men  and  animals  were  huddled  together  promiscuously. 
Their  bravery  in  battle  was  often  tried  and  as  often  proved, 
and  few  enemies  could  withstand  the  impetuous  charge  of  the 
Scythian  cavalry  ;  but  it  must  be  the  expression  of  their  enemies' 
fears  rather  than  the  sober  statement  of  truth,  that  they  ate, 
drank,  and  even  slept  on  the  backs  of  their  hardy  steeds. 

*  Gibbon's  Roman  Empire  (4  vols.).  Vol.  ll.,  pp.  140,  164-8  ;   Keatingj 
p;    96. 


THE   MILESIANS.  II 

It  is  amid  this  people  of  uncertain  origin  and  in  their  country 
of  vaguely  defined  limits,  that  the  ancient  chroniclers  of  Ireland 
fix  the  home  of  the  Milesians.  They  do  not,  however,  under- 
take to  give  the  exact  geographical  limits  of  Scythia.  But  when 
they  pass  from  the  geography  of  the  country,  and  come  to  speak 
of  its  inhabitants,  their  imaginations  cease  to  be  inactive.  i-Iistory 
speaks  of  these  Scythians,  even  after  the  dawn  of  the  Christian 
era,  as  the  veriest  savages,  but  in  the  glowing  pages  of  these 
ancient  chroniclers  they  appear  as  a  highly  civilised  people, 
who,  in  their  habits  and  manners,  in  the  laws  which  they 
enacted  and  administered,  in  the  state  of  education  amongst 
them,  were  a  model  to  the  nations  which  surrounded  them. 
They  quote  with  eagerness  the  boastful  language  of  Justin 
that  these  Scythians  conquered  other  nations  but  were  never 
conquered  themselves,  and  that,  indeed,  they  had  heard  of  but 
never  felt  the  Roman  arms.*  They  assume  with  Josephus  f 
that  the  Scythians  were  descended  from  Magog,  the  son  of  Japhet, 
and  from  Magog  to  Milesius  they  follow  the  fortunes  of  these 
Scythian  leaders   in  laborious  detail. 

But  even  the  fertile  fancy  of  imaginative  writers  cannot 
invest  with  interest  the  personality  or  achievements  of  most 
of  these  leaders  ;  and  those  who  deserve  even  a  passing  notice 
are  but  few.  Niul,  son  of  Feniursa,  is  one.  His  father  is  said 
to  have  known  all  languages,  and  Niul's  attainments  were 
little  if  at  all  inferior.  He  settled  in  Egypt,  married  Scota,  the 
daughter  of  Pharoah,  and  obtained  a  principality  by  the  shores 
of  the  Red  Sea.  Here  he  tried  to  assist  Moses  and  the  persecuted 
Israelites.  In  return  for  this  kindness  to  God's  chosen  people, 
his  son,  Gadelius,  when  bitten  by  a  serpent,  was  miraculously 
cured.  But  the  friendship  of  Moses  involved  the  enmity  of 
Pharaoh.  Niul  and  his  followers  were  driven  from  their 
possessions,  and  had  to  seek  for  new  homes  in  distant  lands. 
Like  ^neas,  per  varios  casus  per  tot  discrunina  rcrum,  they 
wandered  over  many  lands  and  many  seas.  From  Egypt  tO' 
Greece,  from  Greece  to  Crete,  from  Crete  to  Gothland,  and 
finally  from  Gothland  to  Spain,  where  for  generations  they  lived 
and  ruled.  In  that  country  one  of  their  chiefs,  Milesius,  main- 
tained the  ancient  reputation  of  his  race  for  military  renown. 
Animated  with  a  spirit  of  adventure,  he  fitted  up  a  fleet  and  sailed 
over  the  Mediterranean,  visited  Scythia,  and  finally  came  to 
Egypt,  where  he  was  warmly  welcomed  by  the  reigning  king. 
Appointed  leader    of  the   Egyptian   forces    he  re-organised   the 

*  Keatingj  p.  97.  He  seems  to  have  had  access  to  many  MSS.  and 
Annals  not  known  now,  and  he  seems  to  have  accepted  everything  con- 
tained in  them  as  true. 

\  Whiston's  Josephus,  p.    T)^. 


12  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

army,  enforced  military  discipline,  humbled  the  pride  of  the 
Ethiopians,  taught  the  enemies  of  Egypt  that  Egypt  was  to  be 
feared,  and  diffused  a  feeling  of  security  and  repose  from  the 
confines  of  Ethiopia  to  the  Mediterranean.  On  his  return  to 
Spain,  he  found  his  countrymen  much  harassed  by  their 
neighbours  the  Goths.  But  he  soon  taught  the  Goths  the  same 
lesson  he  had  taught  the  Ethiopians — the  humiliating  lesson 
of  defeat.  But  the  Goths  continued  troublesome,  a  famine 
came  upon  the  land  and  the  Scythians,  or  Milesians,  as  they  are 
henceforth  to  be  known,  resolved  to  leave  Spain,  where  their 
condition  had  become  miserable,  and  to  seek  for  some  new  country 
which  they  might  possess  in  peace. 

An  old  Druid — Caicer  by  name,*  had  long  since  foretold 
that  the  Milesians  would  one  day  possess  a  far-off  Western  Isle. 
This  prophecy  they  now  recalled,  and  consulting  together,  they 
concluded  that  Ireland  was  the  island  mentioned  in  the  old 
Druid's  prophecy,  and  to  Ireland  with  all  their  forces  they 
resolved  to  go.  Keating  says  they  landed  in  Ireland,  B.C.  1300, 
McGeoghegan  gives  the  day  and  the  year,  17th  May,  1029,  while 
O'Flaherty  puts  it  about  B.C.  1,000.  The  number  of  their  ships 
was  thirty,  in  each  ship  was  thirty  of  the  most  courageous  of 
their  troops,  their  wives  also  were  on  board,  and  many  others 
followed  them,  allured  by  the  prospect  of  obtaining  possessions 
in  this  new  plantation.  They  first  attempted  to  land  at  Wexford, 
but  the  "  Dannaans  alarmed  at  the  number  of  their  ships,  im- 
mediately flocked  towards  the  shore,  and  by  the  power  of  their 
enchantments  and  diabolical  arts,  they  cast  such  a  cloud  over  the 
whole  island  that  the  Milesians  were  confounded,  and  thought 
they  saw  nothing  but  the  resemblance  of  a  hog.  The  inhabitants 
by  these  delusions  hindered  the  Milesians  from  landing  their 
forces,  so  that  they  were  obliged  to  sail  about  the  island,  till  at 
last,  with  great  dil^culty,  they  came  on  shore  at  Inver  Scene  in 
the  west  of  Munster."!  At  Sliave  Mis,  in  Kerry,  they  first 
encountered  the  Dannaans  and  here  Scota,  the  widow  of 
Milesius,  fell.  A  more  decisive  battle  was  fought  at  Tailtown. 
On  that  fatal  field  the  three  Dannaan  Kings  and  their  wives 
were  killed,  and  the  sceptre  finally  passed  from  Dannaan  to 
Milesian  hands.  As  Milesius  was  dead  before  his  followers 
arrived  in  Ireland,  the  sovereignty  of  the  island  was  divided 
between  his  two  sons,  Heber  and  Heremon.  Two  years  later, 
these  two  sovereigns  quarrelled  ;  a  battle  was  fought  at  Geashill, 
in  the  King's  County,  Heber  was  defeated  and  slain,  and  Heremon 
became  sole  monarch  of  Ireland,  and  the  first  in  that  long  line 
of  kings,  which  ended  with  Roderick  O'Connor. 

*  Keating,  p.   1 14. 
t  Ibidem,  p.  134. 


THE  MILESIANS.  1 3 

It  may  be  asked  how  much  of  all  this  is  true — ^how  much 
is  fact,  and  how  much  is  fiction — nor  can  a  satisfactory  reply  be 
given.  To  ask  the  question  is  much  easier  than  to  answer  it. 
Those  who  are  engaged  in  mining  speak  of  refractory  ore,  and 
complain  of  the  difficulty  they  experience  in  extracting  from  it 
the  pure  gold,  and  similarly,  in  these  legends  of  a  long-past  age, 
the  dif^culty  is  to  extract  what  truth  they  contain  from  the 
mass  of  error  which  surrounds  it.  It  is  certainly  true  that 
such  a  people  as  the  Scythians  existed,  and  that  mention  is  made 
of  them  in  histories  of  a  very  ancient  date.  That  they  were 
savages  pure  and  simple  in  the  time  of  Herodotus,  and  that, 
even  in  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  they  had  not 
advanced  beyond  the  manners  portrayed  in  the  court  and  camp 
of  Attila — all  this  is  equally  true.  The  conclusion  is,  therefore, 
obvious  and  necessary  that  they  could  not  be  numbered  among 
civilised  nations  two  thousand  years  before  the  Christian  era  ; 
and  the  most  credulous  will  smile  at  the  suggestion  that  their 
culture  was  equal  and  coeval  with  that  of  Assyria  and  Egypt. 
Their  wanderings  over  the  Mediterranean,  the  learning  of  Niul, 
and  the  military  exploits  of  Milesius  rest  upon  no  solid  foundation  ; 
and  the  most  partial  will  scarcely  claim  that  the  Milesians 
established  themselves  in  Ireland,  long  before  Rome  was  built, 
or  the  Commonwealths  of  Greece  arose. 

(When  authentic  history  first  speaks  of  Ireland,  the  country 
was  inhabited  by  a  Celtic  people,  called  Scots  or  Milesians,  Britain 
and  Gaul,  at  the  same  time,  being  inhabited  by  a  kindred  race. 
It  is  not  probable  that  they  were  the  first  inhabitants  of  the 
country,  but  before  the  introduction  of  Christianity  they  had 
certainly  become  the  dominant  race,  the  former  inhabitants 
being  either  absorbed  or  exterminated,  or,  perhaps  more  correctly, 
having  a  distinct  but  subordinate  position?)  Keating,  who  seems 
to  accept  without  question  the  whole  story  of  the  Milesian 
wanderings,  has  no  manner  of  doubt  that  they  came  from  Spain 
to  Ireland,  and  grows  angry  with  Camden  for  suggesting 
that  they  came  from  Britain  ;  he  chooses  to  be  directed  by  the 
"  ancient  records  of  the  Kingdom  rather  than  by  the  ill-grounded 
supposition  of  any  modern  whatsoever."*  Yet  Camden's 
supposition,  supported  by  O'Flaherty,  does  not  appear  un- 
reasonable. It  could  scarcely  be  expected  that  these  Milesians 
knew  much  of  navigation,  nor  that  their  rude  vessels  could  stand 
the  full  shock  of  the  Atlantic,  nor  the  treacherous  currents  of 
the  Bay  of  Biscay .f  It  is  easier  and  more  natural  to  believe 
that    they    came    from    Gaul    to    Britain,    and     from     Britain 

*  Keating,  p.-  13 1: 

t  Unless  we  suppose  they  were  Phoenicians,  and  even  Keating  does  not 
suppose  this. 


14  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

to  Ireland,  than  to  suppose  they  came  direct  by  sea  from  Spain. 
Buchanan*  is  anxious  to  show  that  they  came  direct  from  Gaul 
to  Ireland,  but  his  arguments  are  inconclusive  and  carry  no 
conviction.  But  whether  they  came  directly  from  Spain,  or 
whether  they  passed  over  from  Gaul  to  Britain  and  thence  to 
Ireland,  cannot  with  certainty  be  ascertained.  These  are 
questions  which  will  always  remain  doubtful,  and  in  striving 
to  arrive  at  the  truth  it  must  be  admitted  that  we  derive  but 
little  assistance,  either  from  the  arguments  of  Buchanan,  or 
the  credulity  of    Keating. 

For  obvious  reasons  the  long  list  of  Milesian  kings  coming 
down  in  unbroken  succession  from  the  tenth  century  before 
the  Christian  era  must  be  taken  as  legendary,  and  deserves  none 
of  that  consideration  which  is  due  to  historic  truth.  To  be  able 
to  claim  that  a  settled  form  of  government  existed  in  Ireland, 
long  before  such  a  government  was  established  at  Greece  or 
Rome,  would  be  indeed  flattering  to  the  national  vanity.  But 
such  a  claim  has  not  the  least  amount  of  probability  on  its 
behalf,  and  one  of  the  oldest  and — accepting  O' Donovan's  estimate 
of  him  f — the  most  accurate  of  our  chroniclers,Tighernach — has 
the  good  sense  to  point  out  that  events  recorded  previous  to 
the  time  of  Cimbaeth,  B.C.  300,  are  altogether  legendary.  Nor 
indeed  does  posterity  lose  much  by  consigning  to  oblivion  the 
vast  majority  of  these  Irish  kings,  for  even  fiction  itself  can 
say  nothing  of  them,  except  that  they  were  born  and  that  they 
died.  There  are,  however,  a  few,  who  may  be  excepted,  and 
of    these   Olave   Fola   is   first   in   order   of   time. 

In  the  first  list  of  kings  given  by  O' Flaherty,]:  Olave  is  put 
down  as  fortieth,  but  the  author  does  not  give  the  year  of  his 
accession  nor  the  length  of  his  reign.  The  name  he  bore — Olave, 
which  signifies  professor — testifies  that  he  was  a  learned  man, 
and  he  did  everything  that  even  a  king  could  do  to  encourage 
learning.  Anxious  to  have  good  laws  passed,  and  to  have 
besides  the  records  of  the  Kingdom  accurate  and  trustworthy, 
he  assembled,  everj^  third  year  at  his  palace  at  Tara,  an  assembly 
of  the  princes,  druids,  bards  and  other  learned  men  of  the 
kingdom  ;  public  affairs  were  then  discussed,  new  laws  enacted, 
old  laws,  if  useless  or  injurious,  repealed.  The  records  of  the 
Kingdom  were  carefully  examined  and  criticised,  whatever  was 
deemed  inaccurate  was  expunged,  due  corrections  were  made, 
and,  thus  corrected,  these  records  were  handed  down  to  posterity 
as  authentic  history.  The  book  in  which  the  facts  of  history 
were  thus  carefully  transmitted  was  called  the  Psalter  of  Tara, 
and  the  assembly  itself  was  called  the  Feis. 

*  Quoted  by  Keating  and  refuted  by  him,  pp;  126-8. 
t  Four  Maslers,  Vol.  I.y  p.  72. 
+  Ogygia,  Part  III.,  chap.  29. 


THE  MILESIANS.  1 5 

In  the  joint  reign  of  Cimbaeth  and  his  wife,  Macha,  the  palace 
of  Emania,  near  Armagh,  was  built.*  The  next  sovereign — 
the  78th  king — was  called  Hugony,  the  first  of  these  ancient 
monarchs  whom  the  chroniclers  call  Great .f  Not  content 
with  the  sovereignty  of  Ireland,  he  went  over  the  sea  to  France, 
where  his  arms  were  ever  victorious  until  at  length  he  ruled 
over  all  Western  Europe.  He  married  a  French  princess  and 
left  twenty-five  children,  among  whom  he  divided  Ireland  into 
as  many  parts.  This  division  was  abolished  by  a  subsequent 
king,  Eochy,  who  divided  Ireland  into  five  divisions,  Ulster, 
Leinster,  Connaught  and  two  Munsters.  Over  each  province 
there   ruled   a   pentarch,   or    provincial   king.t 

Tuathal,  who  lived  in  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era, 
era,  was  the  first  king,  it  is  said,  who  imposed  the  Boru  tribute  on 
the  kings  of  Leinster.  He  was  a  warlike  king,  and  had  much 
fighting  with  the  various  tributary  princes  all  of  whom  he 
vanquished.  To  punish  them  he  took  from  each  a  portion  of 
his  territory,  which  he  erected  into  a  vast  royal  demesne  corres- 
ponding to  the  present  counties  of  Meath  and  Westmeath.  But 
against  the  King  of  Leinster  he  was  specially  enraged.  It  appears 
that  this  prince  had  married  a  daughter  of  Tuathal's,  and  after 
some  time,  pretending  that  his  wife  was  dead,  he  demanded 
and  received  her  sister  in  marriage.  The  sisters  were  kept  apart 
at  the  palace  of  the  King  of  Leinster,  but  on  an  occasion  they 
met  and  were  so  heart-broken  at  the  wrong  done  to  them  that 
they  both  sickened  and  died.  ||  In  revenge  for  this  outrage 
Tuathal  decreed  that  henceforth  Leinster  should  pay  the  Ardri 
a  yearly  tribute  of  150  cows,  150  hogs,  150  pieces  of  cloth,  150 
cauldrons,  150  couples  of  men  and  women  in  servitude  and 
150  maidens,  with  the  King  of  Leinster's  daughter  among 
them.**  Whether  this  tribute  was  imposed  by  Tuathal  or  not, 
it  is  certain  that  such  a  tribute  was  imposed  by  some  Ardri, 
and  that  it  led  to  most  disastrous  results.  Successive  Ardris 
enforced  payment,  the  Leinster  kings,  whenever  strong  enough, 
repudiated  the  imposition,  ill-will  was  thus  engendered,  disputes 
arose,  wars  and  bloodshed  followed,  and  these  rival  princes  in 
fighting  among  themselves  prepared  the  way  for  the  yoke  of 
the  stranger. 

The  exploits  of  Con  of  the  Hundred  Battles  have  furnished 
much  matter  to  poets  and  bards,  but  when  we  come  to  the  reign 
of  Cormac  Mac  Art,  we  arrive  at  a  period  where  the  facts  recorded 

*  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise,  p.  41. 

t  O'Flaherty's  Ogygia,  Part  III.,  Ch.   38; 

\  Ogygia,  Part  III.,  chap.  43. 

II   Keating,  p.   237. 

'**  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise,  p.  54  ;  Fottr  Masters,  Vol.-  I.j  p.  100,  note.- 


1 6  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

may  be  considered  facts  and  not  mere  fiction,  though  these  facts 
are  often  embellished  and  exaggerated,  and  not  always  easy  to 
recognise.  Cormac  who  reigned  in  the  third  century,  is  described 
as  the  best  king  that  Ireland  ever  had  up  to  his  time.  He  held 
regular  meetings  of  the  Feis  at  Tara,  enacted  many  wise  laws, 
carefully  corrected  the  Psalter  of  Tara,  and  even  wrote  a  book 
called  "  Princely  Institutions."  *  It  is  said  that  he  became  a 
Christian,  and  thereby  much  embittered  the  Druids.f  But 
his  fame  is  altogether  eclipsed  by  that  of  his  son-in-law.  Fin 
MacCool,  the  leader  of  the  Fenian  Militia,  or  standing  army  of 
Ireland.  The  exploits  of  Fin  and  his  Fenians  have  been  illustrated 
by  the  genius  of  Ossian,  the  son  of  Fin,  who  was  a  poet  as  well 
as  a  warrior.  There  are  probably  many  things  ascribed  to  Ossian 
which  he  never  wrote,  and,  perhaps,  also  in  the  translations  of 
his  poetry  that  have  come  down  to  us  there  are  many  interpola- 
tions and  errors  ;  but  that  Ossian  lived  and  wrote  and  that  he 
is  the  great  central  figure  in  the  literature  of  ancient  Erin  need 
not  be  regarded  as  a  matter  of  doubt.  The  impudent  claim  of 
MacPherson  to  make  him  a  Scotchman,  I  and  to  transfer  the 
exploits  of  Fin  and  his  Fenians  to  Caledonia,  has  long  since  been 
rejected.  It  could  not  survive  the  discovery  of  the  forgeries 
which  gave  it  birth. 

Nobody  would  receive  as  historic  facts  the  tale  of  Fin  and 
his  Fenians  as  described  by  Ossian  and  his  contemporaries.  Even 
Keating  rejects  many  of  them  as  fabulous,  and  grows  angry 
with  Boetius  for  suggesting  that  Fin  himself  was  a  giant  and 
was  fifteen  cubits  high.  ||  Yet,  strip  these  tales  of  obvious 
exaggeration  and  mere  poetic  adornment,  leave  out  the  gods  and 
goddesses,  the  giants  and  the  fairies,  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  have  a  basis  of  historic  truth.  Cormac  is 
reputed  to  have  been  a  monarch  of  great  prudence.  He  saw  that 
Britain  was  already  in  Roman  bondage,  and  he  had  only  too 
much  reason  to  fear  that  the  Romans  would  cross  the  Irish 
Sea,  and  that  the  fate  of  Britain  would  soon  be  the  fate  of  Ireland. 
In  such  circumstances  prudence  would  suggest  having  a  trained 
and  disciplined  force  to  guard  the  coasts  against  pirates  and 
robbers,  to  watch  for  the  coming  of  the  invaders,  to  combat 
them  in  the  field  when  they  came  ;  and  to  none  could  the  com- 
mand of  this  force  be  given  with  more  justice  than  to  his  son-in- 
law.  Fin,  who,  in  lighting  the  Romans,  would  be  defending  his 
family   inheritance,  as   well   as   the  liberty  of  his  native    land. 

*  Transactions  of  the  Ossianic  Society,  Vol.    v.j    p.   198. 
t  Lady  Ferguson.     The  Irish  before  the  Conquest ^  p.   120. 
X  Ossianic  Society,  Vol.  v.^  p.  179.    Dr.  Johnson's  opinion  of  MacPherson 
is  well  known. 
II  pp.  281-2S4. 


THE  MILESIANS.  1 7 

And  if  the  Romans  had  come  it  is  not  unlikely  that  their  task 
would  be  much  more  difficult  than  Agricola  expected  ;  they  would 
probably  have  encountered  fierce  opposition  and  met  with  valour 
equal  to  that  of  Caractacus.*  These  Fenians  were  not  called 
upon  to  repel  foreign  invasion.  They  became  restive,  insolent 
and  rebellious,  until  finally  after  a  hard  fought  struggle,  they 
were    overthrown  at  the  battle  of    Gavra.| 

In  the  last  years  of  the  fourth  century  Ireland  was  ruled 
by  Nial  of  the  Nine  Hostages.  Undisputed  master  at  home, 
he  made  incursions  into  Caledonia  and  Britain,  and  even  into 
Gaul.  The  Roman  Empire  was  then  tottering  to  its  fall,  Britain 
had  none  to  rely  on  but  native  defenders,  and  Nial,  aided  by  the 
PictsJ  of  Caledonia,  broke  through  the  frail  defence  of  the  Roman 
wall,  and  made  Britain  his  tributary  province.  Nor  did  he 
relinquish  his  conquest  till  the  Roman  legions  were  recalled 
to  Britain,  and  then,  the  discipline  and  experience  of  the  Roman 
soldier  and  the  military  genius  of  the  ablest  of  the  Roman  generals 
prevailed.  Perhaps,  even  Stilicho  himself  would  have  suffered 
defeat  but  that,  in  the  crisis  of  the  battle,  the  Attacotti,  who 
fought  in  the  army  of  Nial,  deserted  to  the  Romans  and  turned 
their  weapons  against  the  Irish  king.  These  Attacotti  were 
descendants  of  the  ancient  Firbolgs,  who  were  subjugated  by  the 
Milesians  and  who  submitted  with  impatience  to  Milesian  rule. 
Taken  into  the  army  of  the  Ardri  and  trusted  as  loyal  soldiers, 
they  acted  as  traitors  in  the    hour  of  trial. 

Whoever  will  read  the  history  of  these  islands  during  the 
first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  will  note  that  Ireland  was 
the  country  of  the  Scots,  that  colonies  of  these  Scots  passed  from 
Ireland  to  Caledonia  where  they  settled,  that  these  Caledonian 
Scots,  with  their  kinsmen  from  Ireland,  and  the  Picts  frequently 
harassed  the  Roman  province  of  Britain  ;  that  it  was  Ireland 
alone  which  was  called  Scotia  ;  and  that  if  sometimes  Caledonia 
was  called  Scotia  it  was  always  called  Scotia  Minor,  to  distinguish 
it  from  Ireland,  which  was  Scotia  simply,  or  Scotia  Major. 
Gibbon  is  not  willing  to  admit  all  this  and  is  ready  to  assert,  that 

*  Student's  Hume,  p.  9. 

t  The  Ardri,  Cairbre  was  slain  in  the  battle,  and  very  many  of  his 
troopSj  but  the  Fenians  were  almost  totally  destroyed.  (Miss  Brooke's 
"  Reliques  of  Irish  Poetry"  p.    147.) 

+  The  Picts,  according  to  Bede  {Ecclesiastical  History,  Bohn's  ed.^ 
pp.  6,  7),  came  from  Scythia  to  Irelandj  but  the  Scots  who  dwelt  there 
would  give  them  no  settlements,  and  directed  them  to  proceed  to  Caledoniaj 
which  they  did.  They  then  asked  wives  of  the  ScotSj  as  they  had  none 
themselves.  The  Scots  acceded  to  their  request^  but  only  on  condition 
that  they  should  chose  a  king  from  the  female  royal  race  rather  than 
from  the  male^  "  a  custom  which  has  been  observed  among  the  Picts  to 
this  day." 

c 


1 8  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

probably  Ireland  was  peopled  from  Caledonia  "  by  a  colony  of 
hungry  Scots."  *  But  the  evidence  of  facts  is  against  him. 
Claud ian  in  describing  the  wars,  which  Stilicho  waged  against 
the  Picts  and  Scots,  always  speaks  of  the  Picts  as  belonging 
to  Caledonia,  and  the  Scots  as  belonging  to  Ireland.  In  the  vivid 
language  of  poetry  he  represents  Britain  as  giving  thanks  to 
Stilicho  for  having  defended  her,  when  the  Scot  stirred  up  all 
Ireland ,f  and  when  the  sea  foamed  beneath  his  hostile  oars  ;  and 
writing  of  the  wars  of  Theodosius,  he  says,  that  while  Thule  grew 
warm  with  the  blood  of  the  Picts,  icy  Ireland  wept  for  the 
numbers  of  her  Scots  that  were  slain. t  Bede  as  well  as  Camden 
and  Buchanan  state  not  as  a  matter  of  dispute  but  of  certainty, 
that  Caledonia  was  peopled  by  Scots  from  Ireland,  and  Hume, 
Scotchman  though  he  is,  and  naturally  jealous  for  the  antiquity 
of  his  race,  has  written  that  from  the  second  to  the  eleventh 
century,  the  Scots  were  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland,  and  Ireland 
alone  bore  the  name  of  Scotia.  Before  this  accumulated  mass 
of  testimony  even  the  stubborn  scepticism  of  Gibbon  must  give 
way.  In  a  later  portion  of  his  great  work  he  admits  grudgingly, 
and  ungraciously  it  is  true,  that  after  all  some  slight  credit  may 
be  given  to  the  Irish  traditions,  and  possibly  in  one  of  Nial's 
excursions  into  Britain,  St.  Patrick  was  taken  away  into  captivity. 

*  Vol.  II.,  p.   141. ■ 

f  Me    quoque    vicinis   pereuntem    gentibus,    inquit 
Munivit  Stilicho,  totam    cum   Scotus  lernam 

Movit  et  infesto  spumavit  remige  Tethys — De  Laudibus  StiliconiSj 
Liber  II. 

X    — incaluit  Pictorum  sanguine  Thule, 

Scotorum  cumulos  flevit    glacialis   lerne. — Honorii   Augusti   de  4° 
Consulaiu. 

Theodosius  did  not  march  as  far  as  Thule,  nor  did  he  go  even  near  it, 
but  some  allowance  must  be  made  for  poetic  imagination. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Pre-Christian   Citilization. 

Pagan  Ireland  not  one  Kingdom  but  a  Confederation  of  small  states; 
Political  and  Social  Institutions — The  Fine — Sept — Clan.  Different 
classes — the  King — Tanist — Druids — Different  Assemblies — Cuirmtig- 
Dal — Aenach,  etc. — Besides  King  and  Druids — Brehons — Ollaves — 
Bards — Ceiles — Slaves — Tribute  paid — Defects  of  the  Clan  System.  The 
use  of  Letters — Mechanical  Arts — Dress — Buildings — Furniture  of 
homes — Mills — Boats. 

TIn  pagan  times  Ireland  must  not  be  regarded  as  one  Kingdom, 
governed  by  one  king  and  one  common  system  of  laws  ;  it 
was  rather  a  confederation  of  small  states  or  clans,  each  making 
its  own  laws,  raising  and  spending  its  own  taxes,  governed  by 
its  own  chieftain  and  practically  independent  within  its  own 
limitst)  There  was  an  Ardri,  who  ruled  at  Tara,  and  who,  amongst 
the  various  princes,  was  first  in  dignity,  but  whose  authority 
over  these  princes — and  he  claimed  some — was  shadowy  and 
nominal,  and  frequently  his  authority  was  flouted  and  his  person 
and-of^ce  despised. 

(The  smallest  organism — political  and  social — next  to  the 
family  was  the  fine*  It  was  more  than  a  family,  but  it  was  in 
the  family  it  took  its  rise,  and  was  nqthing  more  than  the  family 
overgrown  beyond  its  original  limits.  Originally  the  family 
had  its  allotted  portion  of  land,  but  as  children  and  grand-children 
were  born,  and  in  their  turn  arrived  at  maturity,  and  became 
heads  of  families  themselves,  or  at  least  at  an  age  when  they  could 
inherit  and  possess  property  and  partake  of  responsibilities,  the 
original    land   became    divided    and   subdivided     among    them. 

(Jhis  aggregate  of  individuals,  freemen  born,  members  of  the 
same  clan,  deriving  their  descent  from  a  common  ancestor,  bound 
together  by  ties  of  kinship  and  interest,  and  possessing  a  common 
portion  of  land,  made  up  the  corporate  body  called  the  fine^ 
At  its  head  stood  the  fiaith-fine.    He  was  the  paterfamilias,  the 

*  Ginnell  ;  The   Brehon   Laws,   pp.    104-5.     O'Curry  ;    M miners    and 
Customs  of  the  Ancient  Irish,  Vol.  I.,  p.    162-3; 


20  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

representative  of  the  fine,  he  was  to  sue  and  be  sued  in  its  name^ 
to  guard  its  interests  and  to  defend  its  rights.  Probably  he  had 
a  larger  partion  of  land  than  the  other  members  of  the  fine,  as 
this  would  seem  to  be  demanded  by  his  greater  duties  and 
obligations.  Besides  the  fiaith,  there  were  sixteen  other  members 
in  the  fine,  divided  into  four  groups  of  four  each,  the  property 
of  each  group  and  the  nature  of  their  duties  and  rights  being 
measured  by  the  nearness  or  remoteness  of  their  kinship  to  the 
fiaith.  The  first  group  called  the  Gelfine*  consisted  of  the  fiaith 
and  his  four  sons,  if  he  had  such,  or,  in  default  of  these,  his  nearest 
male  relatives  ;  the  second  group  was  the  Derbfine  ;  the  third, 
the  larflne,  and  the  fourth  the  Innfine.  Should  a  vacancy  occur 
in  one  of  these  groups  by  death  or  otherwise,  then  one  was. 
advanced  from  a  lower  group  to  a  higher  and,  similarly,  should, 
for  instance,  a  son  of  the  fiaith  arrive  at  maturity  and  become 
enrolled  a  member  of  the  Gelfine,  then  one  of  this  group  was 
lowered  to  the  second  group,  one  of  the  second  to  the  third,  until 
at  length  one  of  the  Innfine  was  thrust  out  of  the  fine  altogether 
and  became  simply  a  member  of  the  sept,  no  longer  burdened 
with  the  responsibilities  that  membership  of  the  fine  entailed. 

As  the  fine  consisted  of  several  families,  so  the  sept  consisted 
of  several  fines,  the  number  being  variable.  The  whole  sept  had 
its  own  specific  portion  of  land,  and  within  its  limits  the  members 
were  free,  subject  only  to  the  clan  and  its  requirements.  The 
head  of  a  sept  was  called  a  fiaith.  He  was  the  official  head  and 
representative  of  the  sept,  as  the  flaithfine  was  of  the  fine,  or 
the  chieftain  of  the  clan.  In  addition  to  his  private  property, 
which  might  be  considerable,  he  had  an  allowance  of  land,, 
tribute  being  also  paid  to  him  by  the  sept. 

Higher  than  the  sept,  and  usually  embracing  several  septs, 
was  the  clan.^  The  extent  of  its  territory  was  called  a  tuatha 
and  would,  perhaps,  correspond  to  a  modern  barony,  while  the 
aggregate  of  persons  who  made-up  the  clan  was  sometimes  called 
a  tribe  and  sometimes  a  cinnelU  To  the  fine  and  sept  it  bore 
a  resemblance  and,  indeed,  was  nothing  more  than  a  fuller 
development  of  these,  for  in  all  the  connecting  link  was  kinship, 
and  both  ruler  and  subject  were  children  of  one  common  ancestor, 
confederated  together  for  the  preservation  of  their  common  inheri- 
tance. The  clan  recognised  as  superior  the  provincial  kings  and 
paid  them  tribute,  but  the  tribute  was  not  large  nor  the  authority 

*  The  Gelfine  were  the  representatives  of  the  rights  and  liabilities  of 
the  whole  fine,  formed  a  kind  of  family  Council,  and  when  property  in 
default  of  direct  heirs  passed  to  the  collateral  heirs,  the  Gelfine  received 
the  inheritance,  and  assumed  the  responsibility  attached  to  it. — Manners 
and  Customs,  Vol.  I.;  p.  164. 

f  Manners  and  Customs,  Vol.  I.,  p.   199. 


PRE-CHRISTIAN   CIVILIZATION.  21 

of  the  provincial  kings  often  more  than  nominal,  and  to  all  intents 
and  purposes,  in  theory  andin  practice,  the  clan  was  a  self- 
governing,  independent  stateT) 

The  king  or  chief  of  the  clan  was  chosen  from  the  heads  of 
the  septs,  and  was  elected  at  an  assembly  called  the  tocomra, 
which  was  attended  by  all  the  heads  of  the  septs  and  probably 
also  by  the  flaith-flnes .  Nobody  could  become  king,  unless  he 
was  of  full  age,  nor  if  he  was  blind,  lame,  deaf,  stupid,  or  had 
any  remarkable  blemish  either  of  mind  or  body.  In  the  same 
way,  and  subject  to  the  same  conditions,  the  ianist,  or  next 
heir  to  the  chieftaincy,  was  elected.  Should  the  king  die,  or 
become  disqualified  by  reason  of  some  blemish  after  his  election, 
the  tanist  at  once  became  king  and  a  new  tanist  was  elected. 
Usually  the  king's  son  became  tanist,  but  this  was  not  necessary 
nor  did  it  always  happen  ;  it  might  be  some  near  relative  of  the 
king  whose  qualifications  were  remarkable  and  recognised,  it 
might  be  some  flaitk  in  no  way  related  to  the  ruling  chief,  unless 
we  include  that  uncertain  relationship  which  existed  between 
members  of  the  same  clan.  The  king  was  the  ofBcial  head  of 
the  clan,  provided  with  an  official  residence  or  dun,  and  a  large 
allowance  of  land  as  his  official  patrimony.  He  was  not,  however, 
the  master  of  the  clan,  but  rather  its  servant,  his  duties  and 
rights  being  specific  and  well-defined.  In  peace  he  was  first  in 
dignity,*  and  in  war  his  was  the  perilous  privilege  of  leading  his 
clansmen  to  battle.  He  collected  the  taxes  by  his  officers  and  he 
also  spent  them,  without  being  asked  for  an  account  as  to  how 
they  were  spent.  Amply  provided  for,  he  was  strictly  debarred 
from  doing  any  servile  work  ;  such  being  considered  beneath 
the  ^ignity  of  a  king,  f 

(Next  to  the  Kings  the  most  important  class  were  the  Druids> 
Caesar  has  described  the  Druids  of  Gaul  and  their  beliefs,  and 
the  Druidism  of  Ireland  and  Britain  was  the  same.  Indeed  it 
was  in  Mona,  or  Anglesea,  that  its  doctrines  and  practices  were 
taught  in  their  highest  perfection,  and  Caesar  suggests  that  it 
was  from  Britain,  Druidism  was  introduced  into  Gaul.J^''  The 
Druids  taught  the  immortality  and  transmigration  of  souls, 
worshipped  the  sun  and  moon,  held  in  special  reverence  the  oak 
tree,  and  had  their  sacrifices  in  the  open  under  its  shade.  They 
worshipped  idols,  and,  before  anidol  called  Crom  Cruach,  they 
probably  offered  human  sacrifices,!!   perhaps   the  prisoner  taken 

*  Ginnellj  pp.   57-67. 

t  Manners  and  Customs^  Vol.  I.j  p.   235. 

\  De  Bella  Gallico,  Lib.  vi.    cap.    13-14- 

II  O'Curry,.  Manners  and  Ctistoms,  Vol.  II.;  p.  222^  vehemently 
denies  this,  but  he  instances  a  case  where  the  British  Druids  offered  human 
sacrifices,  and  if  the  doctrines  of  Irish  and  British  Druids  were  the  same 


22  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

in  battle,  the  criminal  guilty  of  some  grave  offence,  sometimes 
their  own  children  were  sacrificed.  These  Druids  knew  some- 
thing of  medicine,  they  studied  the  stars,  and  from  their  position, 
as  well  as  from  the  croaking  of  ravens  and  the  chirping  of  wrens, 
they  undertook  to  read  the  secrets  of  the  future.  They  decided 
disputes,  and  whoever  refused  to  abide  by  their  decision,  they 
excommunicated,  making  him  an  outcast,  whom  to  avoid  was 
a  duty  and  whom  to  touch  was  to  be  defiled.  They  were  exempt 
from  military  service  and  taxation,  and  had  enormous  influence 
and  power.  In  the  beginning,  at  all  events,  they  were  Brehons 
and  Bards  as  well  as  priests,  and  had  a  monopoly  of  learning. 
But  as  enactments  were  multiplied  and  judicial  decisions  became 
numerous,  and  required  some  technical  training  to  interpret — 
a  separate  class — the  Brehons — arose  whose  business  it  was, 
leaving  religious  ceremonies  to  the  Druids,  to  confine  themselves 
to  the  study  of  law. , 

In  each  clan  there  were  two  assemblies — the  cuirmtig* 
attended  by  all  who  paid  taxes,  and  at  which  laws  were  introduced  ; 
and  the  Dal,  attended  by  the  flaiths,  where  these  same  laws 
were  examined  and  either  rejected  or  passed.  Of  other  assemblies 
there  was  the  Aenach,^  which  had  its  origin  in  funeral  games, 
was  attended  by  several  clans,  and  at  which  athletic  and  other 
competitions  and  fairs,  in  the  modern  sense,  were  held  ;  but  laws, 
though  probably  discussed,  were  not  passed.  There  were  the 
assemblies  of  Taeltown  and  Uisneach,|  where  laws  were  promul- 
gated, but  not  often  enacted,  and  lastly,  \heFeis  of  Tara,ll  where 
laws  were  enacted  for  the  nation  at  large.  Other  sources  of  law 
were  local  customs,  which  in  time  grew  to  have  the  force  and 
character  of  law  ;  but  the  source  from  which  most  of  the  law 
came  was  the  decisions  of  famous  Brehons,  for  the  laws 
of  Ancient  Ireland  were  for  the  most    part    judge-made  laws. 

To  know  all  the  laws  enacted,  to  remember  the  various  local 
customs,  to  appreciate  the  worth  of  judicial  decisions  and  to 
decide  according  to  justice  and  law  required  much  training,  and 
we  find  that  before  one  could  attain  to  the  rank  of  Brehon  and 
decide  with  a  Brehon's  authority,  he  should  have  had  a  legal 
training  of  twenty  years.  There  was  at  least  one  Brehon  in  each 
clan  whose  position  was  official,  and  v/ho  had  a  grant  of  land 

why  exempt  the  Irish.  Dr.  Healy  holds  an  opposite  opinion  to  O'Curry 
{Ireland's  Ancient  Schools  and  Scholars  p.  3).  See  also  Tripartite  Life  of 
St.  Patrick.     Introd.  p.  158. 

'*  Ginnelly  p.   57. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  53  ;  O'Curry,  Vol.  I.j  p.  255.  He  adds  that  these  Aenachs  were 
always  held  in  cemeteries. 

%  Ginnell,  p.   51. 

II  O'Curry,  Manners  and  Ctisioms,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  17-19. 


PRE-CHRISTIAN   CIVILIZATION.  2$ 

provided  by  virtue  of  his  office.  After  a  time  the  office  passed 
from  father  to  son,  but  the  son,  like  his  father,  should  have  the 
necessary  legal  training.  There  were  also  non-official  brehons,* 
who  lived  by  their  fees  and  had  no  official  endowment  from  the 
clan.  And  no  doubt,  besides  those  who  sat  as  judges,  there  was 
a  supply  of  professional  advocates  ready  to  plead  for  hire,  for 
such  a  class  of  men  have  not  been  wanting  at  any  period,  nor 
in  any  country  where  there  was  law.  It  was  the  right  of  every 
freemanf  who  had  suffered  wrong  to  seek  for  redress,  and  it 
was  his  right  also  to  select  the  brehon  before  whom  the  case  was 
to  be  tried.  He  might  have  one,  or  he  might  have  many  causes 
of  complaint.  His  relative  might  be  murdered,  his  wife  outraged, 
his  bondman  attacked,  his  house  burned,  his  beehive  robbed,  + 
his  neighbour's  cattle  might  have  trespassed  on  his  land,  his  bees 
might  have  stung  him,|l  or  sucked  honey  from  his  flowers  ;  he 
might  have  been  slandered,  or  a  poet  might  have  satirized  him, 
and  in  Ancient  Ireland,  Christian  as  well  as  pagan,  there  was 
something  specially  fatal  in  poetic  satire.  For  one  and  all  of  these 
offences  the  punishment  was  an  eric  or  fine.  But  not  every  man 
had  a  right  to  complain  and  it  has  been,  therefore,  necessary 
to  add  that  the  complainant  should  be  a  freeman.  A  labourer 
or  cowherd — a  slave  of  any  kind — a  lunatic,  the  son  while  his 
father  lived — none  of  these  could  be  plaintiff  in  a  lawsuit,  though 
the  master  could  complain  of  an  injury  done  to  his  son  or  his 
slave  and  the  guardian  of  the  lunatic,  if  the  lunatic  had  suffered 
wrong.  Nor  could  the  injured  man  proceed  against  everyone. 
The  fool  was  exempt  from  punishment  because  of  his  want  of 
reason,  so  also,  for  a  like  cause,  was  the  madman  and  the  idiot, 
and  exemption  was  also  extended  to  the  dumb.  ^But  against  every 
other  man,  from  the  cetle  to  the  king,  he  had  a  right  of  com- 
plaint and  to  compensation  if  his  case  was  proved.  But  he  should 
be  careful  not  to  make  random  charges,  and  if  it  was  discovered 
that  he  had  given  false  evidence*  *  all  redress  was  instantly  denied 
him.  Nor  were  his  troubles  over  when  the  brehon  had  pro- 
nounced in  his  favour,  and  his  opponent  had  been  fined.  There 
were  no  sheriffs  or  sheriffs'  bailiffs,  there  were  no  police,  the  whole 
machinery  for  carrying  out  the  decrees  of  the  courts  of  law  was 
wanting,  and  the  successful  litigant  himself  was  compelled  to  put 
the  legal  decree  in  force.    And  in  doing  so  he  should  walk  warily, 

*  Ginnell,  p.  84. 

•{■  Senchus  Mor,  Vol.  I.,  p.  291.  He  should  have  "honor  price"  are 
the  words. 

X  Ibidem,  Vol.  I.^  p.    167. 

I|  Ibid^  Vol.  IV.,  p.  177,  Vol.  II. j  p.  121.  There  is  much  in  the 
Brehon  Laws  about  bees,  which  would  indicate  that  they  were  much  valued, 

**  Senchus  Mor,  Vol.  I.,  p.   57. 


24  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

for  if  he  made  distress  on  the  defendant  in  excess  of  what  was 
allowed,  he  was  in  turn  liable  to  be  fined  himself.  A  chief  levying 
distress  on  his  inferior  *  could  proceed  without  notice,  but  in 
every  other  case  previous  notice  was  necessary.  Nor  could  he 
make  a  seizure,  for  instance,  of  the  defendant's  cattle,  except 
accompanied  by  six  other  persons,  three  to  enter  the  defendant's 
land,  the  plaintiff,  a  witness  "  who  has  honor  price  "  and  a 
distraining  advocate,  and  four  more  persons  to  remain  outside, 
each  of  these  being  persons  "  who  had  honor  price."  Then 
the  animal  might  be  seized  and  impounded,  its  maintenance 
charged  and  ultimately  confiscated  altogether  if  the  debt  was 
not  paid  and  the  animal  itself  redeemed.  Instead  of  making  a 
seizure  in  this  manner,  the  plaintiff  might  fast  on  the  defendant, 
and  this  was  the  more  usual  form  of  distress  when  the  defendant 
was  a  person  of  distinction.  The  plaintiff  fasted  before  the 
defendant's  house,  waiting  to  be  paid,  during  which  time  the 
defendant  was  bound  under  pain  of  further  fine  to  order  food, 
and  besides  not  to  delay  payment  of  the  debt  f — a  strange  form, 
indeed,  of  executing  a  decree.  To  modern  notions  these  legal 
provisions  and  practices  are  rude  and  archaic,  yet  they  are  founded 
upon  justice,  and  when  English  writers  of  a  later  age  wrote  of 
the  Brehon  Law  that  it  was  a  "  lewd  custom,"  the  severity  of 
thei;i  censure  is  more  apparent  than  its  justice. 

(Another  privileged  clan  were  the  Ollaves,  who  were  professors 
of  law  and, many  were  the  pupils  that  came  to  learn  its  secrets 
at  their  feet.  Some  of  these  pupils  they  took  into  their  homes 
and  treated  as  members  of  their  own  family.  This  was  literary 
fosterage,  and  was  merely  a  sub-division  of  that  general  system 
of  fosterage  %  which  so  commonly  prevailed  in  Ancient  Ireland 
and  which  continued  down  through  the  centuries  long  after 
the  Anglo-Norman  invasion.  Under  this  system  children, 
especially  of  the  upper  classes,  were  brought  up  and  educated 
in  other  families  than  their  own.  They  were  fed,  clothed,  and 
educated,  and  when  they  came  of  age  were  dismissed  with  a 
parting  gift  to  their  parents'  homes.  Not  unfrequently  there 
sprang  up  between  foster-child  and  foster-parents  the  closest 
personal  attachment,  so  close  and  so  enduring,  that  in  comparison 
the  -claims  of  blood  and  kindred  were  forgotten^J 

High  among  the  privileged  classes  were  the  Bards.      They 
had  'charge  of  genealogies  and  history  and  reduced  the  laws  to 

*  Senchus  Mor^  Vol.  I.j  p.   113. 

t  Senchus  Mor^  Vol.  I.j  pp.  117-119.  If  the  defendant  refused  to 
pay  after  being  fasted  onj  he  was  liable  to  twice  the  amount  of  the  distress  ; 
if  the  plaintiff  continued  to  fast  after  the  amount  of  the  distress  was  offered 
him,  then  he  forfeited  the  debt  altogether. 

X  There  are  many  provisions  in  the  Brehon  Laws  as  to  how  foster 
children  are  to  be  trained. 


PRE-CHRISTIAN   CIVILIZATION.  2$ 

poetic  form,  for  when  writing  was  little  known  this  was  the  easiest 
way  the  laws  could  be  remembered.  Like  the  Brehons  and  Druids 
their  position  too  was  official  J  So  also  was  the  Brugkaid,  or 
public  hospitaller,  whose  house  was  always  to  be  open  to  the 
traveller.  He  had  an  endowment  from  the  clan,  to  enable  him 
to  dispense  hospitality  and  succour  the  traveller  in  distress. 
These  were  the  official  classes  and  might  be  called  the  aristocracy. 
Midway  between  them  and  the  common  people  were  the  aires  * 
who,  though  belonging  to  the  flaitks,  had  only  recently  lifted 
themselves  from  the  common  people  by  the  acquisition  of  wealth. 
Socially  they  were  as  the  Novus  homo  of  the  Romans. 

Below  these  privileged  classes  were  the  ceiles.'\  They  were 
freemen,  each  a  member  of  the  fine  and  farming  a  portion  of 
land  for  which  he  paid  a  land  tax  called  a  ciss,  not  heavy  in 
amount,  and  which  went  for  the  general  purposes  of  the  clan — 
such  as  repair  of  roads  and  maintenance  of  the  poor.  He  was 
also  bound  to  military  service  when  his  chieftain  went  to  war. 
If  he  was  unable  to  stock  his  land  his  flaith  gave  him  stock  on 
a  system  of  hire-purchase.  The  ceile's  house  and  immediate 
surroundings,  his  cattle  and  crops  could  be  disposed  of  by  himself 
as  private  property  ;  but  his  land,  either  in  life  or  in  death,  he 
could  only  dispose  of  subject  to  the  consent  of  his  fine.  There 
were  ceiles,  too,  who  had  no  property.  They  were  born  with 
an  inheritance  of  land,  but  from  want  of  industry,  perhaps 
through  crimes  committed  and  fines  imposed,  they  had  become 
poor  and  were  unable  to  stock  their  land  and  even  surrendered 
it  altogether.  Lower  than  these  were  the  slaves.  Some,  called 
bothachsX  were  born  in  the  clan  but  had  no  property  and 
usually  served  the  fiaiths  as  servants  and  labourers,  receiving 
wages  in  return  or  perhaps  a  small  patch  of  land.  The  fuadhars  II 
were  mostly  from  outside  runaways  and  criminals,  outlaws, 
tramps,  prisoners  taken  in  war,  or  kidnapped  as  St.  Patrick  was, 
in  foreign  and  predatory  expeditions.  These  were  considered  as 
chattels,  who  did  the  roughest  work  for  the  lowest  wages,  though 
even  these  by  degrees  could  raise  themselves  in  the  social  scale 
by  industry  and  ability,  until,  after  several  generations,  their 
descendants  might  partake  of  social  status  and  political  rights. 

In  these  turbulent  times  it  was  difficult  for  a  clan  to  preserve 
its  independence,  surrounded  as  it  was  by  other  clans,  greedy  of 
increased  territory  and  power,  and  hence  arose  the  necessity  of 
purchasing  support  from  outside.    In  this  we  can  trace  the  origin 

*  Ginnell,-  p.  97. 

t  Ibid,  pp.  IH-116.  O'Curry  ;  Manners  and  Customs^  Vol.  I.j  p. 
129. 

X  Ginnell,  p.   149. 
II  Ibidem,    p.     155; 


26  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

of  tribute  to  provincial  kings.  Sprung  from  necessity  and 
continued  by  expediency,  this  payment  became  habitual  and 
customary,  but,  except  in  time  of  war  when  the  clan  should 
furnish  and  equip  a  force  for  the  provincial  king,  the  tribute  was 
not  heavy  and  was  easily  borne.  The  amount  paid  varied  in 
different  clans  *  and  in  some  cases  no  tribute  was  paid.  The  tribe 
of  Burishoole,  in  Mayo,  for  example,  was  bound  to  pay  the  King  of 
Connaught  one  hundred  cows,  an  equal  number  of  hogs,  and 
one  hundred  mantles,  but  the  Hy-Brian  and  Hy-Fiacra  paid  no 
tribute,  nor  were  they  bound  to  go  into  battle  with  the  King  of 
Connaught  "  except  for  stipend."  f  The  relations  between  the 
provincial  kings  and  the  Ardri  were  similar  to  those  between 
these  same  provincial  kings  and  their  sub-chiefs  :  and  in  each 
case,  while  they  were  entitled  to  tribute  from  their  inferiors, 
they  were  also  bound  to  give  their  inferiors  something  in  return. J 
As  the  sub-kings  or  chiefs  were  weak  and  the  provincial  kings 
strong,  these  tributes  were  regularly  paid  ;  but  it  might  happen 
that  the  sub-king  was  a  strong  man  and  the  provincial  king  a 
weakling,  destitute  of  capacity  or  vigour,  and  in  such  cases  his 
authority  was  despised  and  his  tribute  remained  unpaid.  And 
so  it  was  also  with  the  Ardris.  Cor  mac  and  Con  and  Nial  were 
respected  by  ihe  provincial  kings,  but  other  Ardris  were  neither 
respected  nor  feared  :  their  commands  were  unheeded  and  their 
menaces  ignored.  This  was  especially  the  case  after  they  ceased 
to  reside  at  Tara,  for  then  even  their  title  to  be  Ardri  was 
disputed,  and  they  no  longer  received  the  fickle  allegiance 
that  the  filling  of  that  office  implied. 

('"Much  fault  has  been  found  with  the  clan  system  and  to  it 
have  been  attributed  many  of  the  evils  which  befel  Ireland.  But 
it  is  well  to  remember  that  such  a  system  existed  among  most, 
if  not  all,  primitive  peoples.  It  existed  in  ancient  Britain  and 
ih  Gaul,  as  well  as  among  the  ancient  Germans.  The  successive 
stages  of  government  are  usually  found  to  be,  first :  tribes  and 

*  For  instance,  the  King  of  Connaught  was  entitled  to  the  exclusive 
hunting  of  Sliave  Lugha  and  to  the  fresh  ale  of  Murrisk  {Boo'c  of  Rights^ 
p.  19)  ;  the  King  of  Ulster  to  the  games  of  Cooley,  and  the  "  mustering 
of  his  host  at  Muirthemne  "  {ibid,  p.  21),  and  the  Kings  of  Cashel  from 
the  single  tribe  of  the  Muskerry  should  get  1,000  cows  and  1,000  hogs  ; 
and  from  the  men  of  Owney  100  cows  "  at  the  time  of  calving,"  and  100 
pigs,     {ibid.i  p.  45.) 

t  Book  of  Rights,  p.   log. 

X  The  King  of  Connaught  was  bound  to  give  the  Chief  of  Siol  Muire- 
adhaigh,  a  ring,  a  dress,  and  steed,  a  shield,  sword  and  coat  of  mail ;  to 
the  Chief  of  Umhall,  5  steeds,  5  swords  and  5  ships  ;  to  the  Chief  of 
Dealbna, — 6  swords,  6  shields,  6  steeds,  6  tunics  and  6  drinking-horns  ; 
and  to  the  Chief  of  Gregraidhe, — 6  weapons,  6  tunics,  6  bondmen^  6  bond- 
women and  6  coats  of  mail.     {Book  of  Rights,  p.   113.) 


PRE-CHRISTIAN   CIVILIZATION.  1J 

their  chiefs  ;  then  some  capable  chief  extends  his  sway  over 
several  tribes,  and  finally,  by  a  process  of  eliminating  the  incapable, 
there  arises  some  chief  of  commanding  talents,  who  brings  all  the 
tribes  under  his  rule,  establishes  a  strong  central  government* 
and  enacts  and  has  the  power  to  enforce  one  uniform  system  of 
laws.  In  Ireland  this  natural  process  of  development  was  arrested 
in  its  growth,  first  by  the  Danish  and  again  by  the  Norman 
invasion,  and  we  are  left  with  the  undeveloped  product — the 
clan  system — with  all  its  drawbacks  and  imperfections.  To  say 
that  it  had  defects  is  to  say  that  it  was  human.  (With  a  number 
of  petty  independent  states  living  side  by  side  there  is  always 
danger  of  friction,  and  the  danger  is  increased  when  the  people 
are  warlike  and  brave  ;  and  hence  it  need  caus_e  no  surprise  that 
ancient  Ireland  was  filled  with  perpetual  strife, 

(Nor  was  power  equitably  distributed  within  the  clan.  The 
king  was  too  liberally  provided  for,  and  the  tendency  of  the  system 
was  to  gather  all  power  and  wealth  into  his  hands/  His  official 
allowance  was  large,  but  in  addition  he  hired  out  stock  to  the 
poorer  land-holders  and  this  was  a  fruitful  source  of  wealth 
besides  making  these  land-holders  his  dependents.  His  privilege 
of  collecting  and  spending  the  taxes  j  also  enabled  him  to  grow 
wealthy,  for  though  these  taxes  were  intended  to  be  spent  for 
the  public  good — for  the  repair  of  roads  and  bridges  and  such 
works  as  also  to  discharge  the  clan's  liability  to  their  superior 
king — ^yet  how  often  must  they  have  been  diverted  to 
personal  gain  ?  These  kings — like  other  men — had  the  vices 
and  failings  of  human  nature,  and  the  opportunity  to  gratify 
rapacity  and  greed  was  not  always  allowed  to  pass.  The  tax- 
collectors  were  his  creatures,  the  slaves  who  worked  his  lands 
were  in  a  worse  position  still,  and  their  ranks  were  continually 
added  to  by  tramps  and  criminals  and  outcasts.  These  various 
elements  combined  formed  a  dangerous  body  of  adherents  who 
were  ready  to  stand  by  their  chief,  whether  he  was  right  or  wrong, 
and  who,  whilst  he  encroached  on  the  rights  of  others,  were 
ready  to  overawe  those  who  murmured  at  his  encroachments. 
In  time  these  chiefs  laid  greedy  hands  on  those  lands  which  were 
used  as  commonage  by  the  tribe  ;  they  made  these  lands  their 
private  property  ;  they  became  arrogant  and  overbearing  ;  and/ 
he  who  in  theory  and  in  law  was  the  servant  of  the  clan,  in 
practice  and  in  reality  became  its  master)  Like  the  ancient 
Germans  these  chiefs  desired  "  materia  munificentiae  per  bella 
at  raptus,"  %  and   thought  it  tam^e  and  spiritless  to  acquire  by 

*  Such  a  Government  was  established  under  Brian,  but  his  death 
and  that  of  his  whole  family,  or  nearly  so,  destroyed  the  hope  of  its 
continuance. 

t  Ginnell,  pp.    122-3.  J  Tacitus;  Germania,  Cap.    14. 


28  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

labour  what  could  be  grasped  by  force.  The  Brehon  Law  allowed 
them  to  quarter  themselves,  from  time  to  time,  on  their  clansmen, 
to  live — themselves  and  their  retainers — at  their  expense,  and  by 
this  species  of  extortion  the  profits  and  savings  of  a  whole  year's 
hard  work  and  industry  were  dissipated,  perhaps  in  a  single 
night.  Through  pure  caprice,  or  perhaps  to  avenge  some  fancied 
wrong,  these  chiefs  often  engaged  in  war  and  the  lives  of  their 
clansmen  were  recklessly  sacrificed  in  these  wars,  even  as  their 
property  was  by  bonaght  and  coshery*  When  not  engaged 
in  war  much  of  the  chief's  time  was  spent  in  playing  chess  within 
his  dun,  or  chasing  the  deer  outside  its  ramparts  :  but  some  also 
of  his  time  was  spent  in  feasting  and  drinking,  surrounded  by 
flatterers  and  buffoons.  The  Book  of  Rights  makes  frequent 
mention  of  "  drinking  cups  for  carousing  "  \  to  be  paid  as  tribute, 
and  it  may  be  assumed  that  these  cups  were  not  for  ornament 
but  for  use.  The  drink  used  was  ale  brewed  from  barley,  the 
virtues  (or  should  it  be  said  the  vices  ?)  of  whiskey  were  unknown. 
(The  status  of  women  was  degrading.  For  the  most  trifling 
and  insufficient  causes  divorce  was  granted,  women  were  given 
as  tribute  just  as  cattle  were,  they  were  freely  bought  and  sold 
and  in  ttie  Brehon  laws  the  price  of  a  maiden  is  put  down  as 
three  cows.  %  But  in  this  they  were  not  worse  than  their  neigh- 
bours of  Britain  and  Caledonia  where  polygamy  was  common 
and  even  polyandry  not  unknown.  It  is  revolting  to  record  on 
such  respectable  authority  as  St.  Jerome  that  he  saw  an  Irish 
tribe — the  Attacotti — feasting  upon  human  flesh  in  the  woods 
of  Gaul,|l  but  this  disgusting  practice  must  have  been  exceptional 
and  rare,  for  nowhere  else  is  cannibalism  attributed  to  an  Irish 
tribe  ;  and  it  is  at  least  possible  that  St.  Jerome  was  deceived 
and  that  those  whom  he  saw  were  not  Irish.  The  discord  and 
strife  bred  by  the  clan  system  were  not  conducive  to  the  growth 
of  culture  or  good  morals,  yet  it  would  be  unjust  to  assume  that 

*  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  74^  75.  Bonaght  was  an  exaction  im- 
posed  by  the  Chief  for  the  maintenance  of  his  soldiers,  his  horsemeHj 
his  heavy-armed  foot  or  GallaglasseSj  and  his  light-armed  foot  or  Kerns. 
Sorohen  was  somewhat  similar,  and  Coshery  was  an  exaction  for  provisions 
and  lodgings  for  the  chief's  retinue  and  himself.  All  these  exactions 
were  imposed  at  the  caprice  of  the  chief.  The  corresponding  English 
terms  were  Coyne  and  Livery. 

t  Book  of  Rights,  pp.  73-75.- 

X  Ibid.j  pp.  163-18 1  ;  Manners  and  Customs-,  Vol.  I.3  p.  176; 
Ginnell,  p.  213. 

II  "  Ipse  adoloscentulus  in  Gallia  vidi  Atticottos,  gentem  Brittanicamj 
humanis  vesci  carnibus  "  (S.  Jerome  quoted  by  O'Curry,  Vol.  I.j  p.  31.) 
There  was  certainly  a  tribe  called  the  Attacotti  among  the  Irish,  perhaps 
there  was  a  British  one  also,  and  that  it  was  these  and  not  the  Irish 
S.   Jerome  saw. 


PRE-CHRISTIAN   CIVILIZATION.  29 

when  St.  Patrick  came  to  Ireland  he  found  it  a  nation  of  savages. 
Some  culture  there  certainly  was,  and  some  chiefs  and  kings 
were  not  unworthy  to  be  remembered,  but  their  merits  were  not 
the  systems  but  their  own.  There  are  some  constitutions  so 
robust  that  they  can  live  in  a  tainted  atmosphere,  as  there  are 
some  plants  so  hardy  that  they  flourish  amid  the  winter's  blasts. 

Whilst  O'Curry  warns  us  that  to  give  an  account  of  the 
literature  of  pagan  Ireland  is  impossible,  he  himself  gives  a  list 
of  thirty  authors,  who  lived  and  wrote  from  the  days  of  Ugaine 
More  to  Laeghaire,  a  list  which  may  surely  be  regarded  with 
scepticism.*  It  is,  however,  certain  that  a  species  of  writing 
called  Ogham  was  known,  and,  perhaps,  owes  its  origin  to  ancient 
Ireland  :  and  a  knowledge  of  Roman  letters  would  surely  be 
derived  from  Britain  before  St.  Patrick's  time.  There  was  inter- 
course between  the  Irish  and  Britons,  Christianity  was  introduced 
from  Britain  and  why  not  equally  Roman  letters.  ^Nor  was 
music,  either  vocal  or  instrumental,  uncultivated  ;  lOr  music 
has  always  had  for  the  Irish  a  peculiar  charm.  In  tales  that  go 
back  to  pagan  days  mention  is  made  of  the  Banshee's  wail  and 
the  Druid's  shout,  and  the  Esnaid,  or  chorus,  was  sung  by  Finn 
and  his  warriors  as  they  sat  around  their  watch-fires.  The  horn, 
or  trumpet,  the  fiddle  and  the  bagpipes  were  played,  so  also  was 
the  timpan  ;  but  it  was  from  the  harp  the  sweetest  music  was 
obtained  ;  and  as  its  chords  were  struck  by  a  skilful  hand,  it 
moved  Jn  turn  every  emotion  with  which  the  human  breast 
is  filled,  t  In  the  old  legend,  Dagda,  as  he  plays,  compels  his 
enraptured  hearers  sometimes  to  sleep,  sometimes  to  laugh  and 
sometimes  to  weep. 

Passing  to  the  mere  mechanical  arts  and  sciences  %  it  is 
impossible  to  say  to  what  extent  mining  was  understood.  Then 
as  now,  there  was  iron  at  Arigna,  coal  at  Kilkenny,  gold  and 
silver  and  copper  in  the  Wicklow  hills,  but  in  later  times  no  old 
workings  appear  to  have  been  discovered,  which  would  show 
where  the  ancient  Irish  had  mined,  and  it  may  be,  as  some 
suggest,  that  these  metals  were  brought  from  foreign  lands. 
(Working  in  metals,  at  all  events,  was  understood,  and  the  rings 
and  torques,  the  anklets,  bracelets  and  girdles  for  personal 
adornment,  and  the  sword  and  spear,  the  crassack,  the  fiarLiana, 
or  curved  blade,  and  the  brazen  shield  for  tlxg:  sterner  purposes 
of  war  attest  no  small  share  of  mechanical  skilh  The  materials 
of  dress  were  woollen  and    linen,  sometimes  also  the  skins  of 

*  Manners  and  Customs,  Vol.  II. j  p.  49  ;  Cambrensis  Eversiis,  Vol.  I., 
pp.  480486. 

t  Manners  and  Customs ^  Vol.  II.,-  pp.  380,  306^  364-8,  266,  214-18. 

%  Ibid.,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  422-30-39-57-61  ;  Vol.  II.,  235-54  ;  Vol.  ill.,  102-6. 
13,  62-68.     Miss  Brook's  Reliqiies,  p.    108. 


30  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

beasts.  The  dress  of  the  lower  orders  was  scanty  and  rude,  but 
we  do  not  read  anywhere  that  they  were  altogether  naked,  or 
that  they  painted  their  naked  bodies,  as  did  the  Britons  and 
Caledonians.*  A  brat,  f  or  cloak,  covered  the  upper  portion 
of  the  body,  a  berbrat,  or  kilt  of  skins,  covered  the  loins,  whilst 
the  feet  were  either  naked  or  covered  with  sandals  made  with 
cowhide,  the  hair  on  the  outside  such  as  may  still  be  seen  in  the 
Islands  of  Arran.  The  dress  of  the  upper  classes  was  more  elaborate, 
and  Cormac's  dress,  as  he  appeared  at  the  Tara  feis,  was  not 
unworthy  of  a  king.  "  He  had  a  red  buckler  with  stars  and 
animals  of  gold  and  silver,  a  crimson  cloak,  fastened  by  a  golden 
brooch,  a  neck  torque  of  gold,  a  white  shirt  interlined  with  red 
gold  thread,  a  girdle  of  gold  inlaid  with  precious  stones,  shoes  of 
gold  and  two  spears  in  his  hand  with  golden  sockets,  and  besides, 
he  was  symmetrical  of  form  without  blemish  or  reproach."  X 

The  ancient  Irish  knew  little  of  building  and  few  houses 
were  built  of  stone,  ||  these  being  of  dry  masonry,  for  the  use  of 
mortar  was  unknown.  Many  houses  were  but  mud  cabins,  but 
more  frequently  they  were  of  wood  and  wicker  work, round  in  form 
and  consisting  of  only  one  apartment.  For  greater  security  some 
houses  were  built  in  lakes,  the  foundations  being  piles  of  wood. 
The  approaches  to  these  lake-dwellings,  or  cranogues,  as  they 
were  called,  were  narrow  causeways,  which  could  be  easily  defended 
in  case  of  attack.  The  flaith's  house  was  called  a  lis,  often 
surrounded  by  a  mound  of  earth  or  dry  masonry  in  which  case 
it  was  called  a  rath,  or  caiseal.  The  king's  house  was  called  a 
dun  and  had  two  ramparts  surrounding  it,  the  space  between 
these  two,  whenever  possible,  being  failed  with  water.  These 
frail  houses  are  long  since  gone  and  the  sounds  of  revelry  within 
them  are  hushed,  but  the  mounds  which  surrounded  them  may 
still  be  seen  in  many  parts  of  the  country — an  object  of  curiosity 
to  the  stranger,  an  object  of  dread  to  the  timid  and  superstitious 
— for  here,  they  say,  when  the  shades  of  night  fall,  the  fairies 
hold  high  revel  and  the  ghosts  of  the  departed  are  seen.  The 
rude  character  of  the  furniture,**  was  in  keeping  with  the  houses. 
Vessels  were  made  of  dry  and  hardened  clay  or  stone,  vessels 
for  carrying  were  made  of  leather,  whilst  drinking  vessels  were 
of  wood,  and  in  the  better  class  of  houses  of  horn  and  metal. 
Being  shepherds  and  stock-raisers,  the  people  made  little  progress 

*  Caesar  ;    De  Bello  Gallico,   Lib.  v.,  Cap.  145 

t  Manners  and  Customs,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  383-4,  397. 

X  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  19.  Cormac,  it  appears,  was  not  always  without 
blemishj  as  he  was  subsequently  dethroned  because  of  some  physical 
disqualification 

II  Ibid.,  Vol.  I.J  pp.  296  to  317. 

**  Manners  and  Customs,  Vol.  1. 5  pp.   356-60. 


PRE-CHRISTIAN   CIVILIZATION.  3 1 

in  agriculture,  though  flax  and  corn  were  sown,  the  corn  ground 
by  the  quern  and  later  on  by  water-mills.  For  inland  transit 
there  were  roads  on  which  carriages  and  other  vehicles  were 
drawn,  either  by  horses  or  oxen.  There  were  five  great  roads 
which  might  be  regarded  as  national  highways,  all  branching  off 
from  Tara,  and  there  were,  besides  these  many  of  lesser  impor- 
tance.* Those  on  the  sea-coast  had  their  currachs,^  or  small 
boats,  made  of  wicker-work  and  covered  with  hides,  and  in  these 
tiny  vessels  they  boldly  traversed  the  deep.  Larger  vessels  they 
also  must  have  had,  for  they  frequently  pillaged  the  coasts  of 
Britain,and  Tacitus  states  that  the  Irish  ports  were  well-known.  % 
This  indicates  commercial  intercourse  with  other  countries, 
though  the  absence  of  a  convenient  medium  of  exchange  must 
have  hampered  trade  and  commerce.  In  Caesar's  time  the 
Britons  |1  used  small  pieces  of  metal  as  money,  but  even  this 
practice  was  not  adopted  in  Ireland,  and  the  exchange  in  kind 
was  clumsy  and  cumbrous  and  unworthy  of  a  people  with  any 
pretensions  to  civilization.  Under  the  influence  of  Christianity 
the  progress  of  Ireland,  especially  in  the  higher  forms  of  culture 
was  rapid,  and  in  a  short  time  the  fame  of  its  scholars  and  its 
schools  resounded  throughout  Europe. 

*  Introduction  to  Book  of  Rights. 

f  Such  vessels  may  still  be  seen  in  the  Isles  of  Arran: 

X  Tacitus,  Agricola^  Cap.  24.  The  words  would  seem  to  imply  that 
the  ports  and  harbours  were  better  known  than  those  of  Britain,-  which 
would  certainly  seem  strange^  Britain  being  so  much  nearer  the  Continent^ 
and  so  much  more  in  touch  with  civilisation.  Perhaps  his  meaning  is 
that  the  ports  and  harbours  of  Ireland  were  better  known  than  the  island 
itself. 

II  De  Bella  Gallico^  Lib.  vj 


CHAPTER    V. 

SL  Patrick. 

The  recognised  National  Apostle  of  Ireland — Many  events  in  his  life 
disputed — His  birthplace — A  captive  in  Ireland — His  escape — Educated 
with  St.  Martin  and  St.  Germanus — Whitley  Stokes's  objections  to 
the  current  tradition — St.  Patrick's  second  arrival  in  Ireland — His 
labours — His  relations  with  the  Druids  and  King  Laeghaire — His 
travels — Death  at  Armagh — Civil  history  of  the  period  .- 

In  the  History  of  Ireland,  during  the  fifth  century,  there  is  no 
event  of  such  importance  as  the  introduction  of  Christianity, 
and  in  that  work  the  great  central  figure  is  St.  Patrick.  To 
him  and  to  those  who  laboured  under  his  direction  the  conversion 
of  Ireland  from  paganism  has  been  always  attributed,  and  in 
his  own  day  as  in  succeeding  ages  he  has  borne  the  title  of  Ireland's 
National  Apostle.  Tlie  magnitude  of  his  work,  as  well  as  his 
attractive  personal  character,  have  furnished  him  with  many 
biographers.  Yet  it  would  seem  that  a  multitude  of  biographers 
do  not  always  evolve  certainty  out  of  doubt,  nor  make  plain 
what  is  obscure,  and  though  much  has  been  written  of  St.  Patrick 
the  doubt  and  obscurity  still  remain.  It  is  still  doubtful  when 
and  where  he  was  born  ;  much  of  his  life  has  to  be  accounted  for 
by  theory  and  conjecture  ;  and  nobody  can  tell  whether  his 
age  at  death  was  lOO  or  120  years.  One  adventurous  sceptic  * 
has  denied  that  such  a  man  ever  existed  ;  others  maintain  that 
there  were  not  one  but  two  St.  Patricks,  f  whilst  others  appear 
to  contemplate  him  as  something  more   than  human,  have  raised 

*  Ledwich  ;  Antiquities  of  Ireland^  pp.-  362-70.  Ledwich's  theory  of 
the  Irish  Church  was  that  Christianity  flourished  in  Ireland  long  before 
St.  Patrick's  time,  its  preachers  being  Asiatic  missionaries,  who  preached 
doctrines  strongly  at  variance  with  Rome,-  and  so  obstinately  attached  is 
he  to  this  theory  that  though  he  can  produce  no  evidence  in  its  favour^ 
he  still  clings  to  it;  and  is  ready  to  call  names  to  his  own  co-religionists 
— Usher  and  Camden. 

t  Cardinal  Moran's  Essays  on  the  Early  Irish  Church,  p.  46.  There 
seems  to  be  good  grounds  for  this  opinion,-  as  there  was  another  Patrick 
— called  Sen-Patrick — who  was  converted  by  the  Irish  Apostle^  became  a 
monk  at  Glastonbury,  and  died  there  in  great  sanctity  in  45 7. 


ST.    PATRICK.  33 

his  most  ordinary  actions  to  the  dignity  of  miracles,*  and  have 
without  necessity  and  without  reason  multiplied  these  miracles 
beyond  belief.  It  is  this  confusion  and  exaggeration,  this  excessive 
credulity  and  excessive  scepticism  which  have  furnished  a  pretext 
for  the  gross  mis-statement  of  Gibbon  that,  in  the  ninth  century, 
there  were  sixty-six  lives  of  St.  Patrick,  and  that  they  contained 
sixty-six  thousand  lies.f 

One  of  St.  Patrick's  earliest  converts  was  Fiac  of  Sletty. 
He  was  son  of  Ere,  son  of  Bregan  of  a  good  family,  and  was  a 
pupil  of  Dubthack,  the  chief  Poet  to  the  Ardri.  Like  his  master, 
he  became  a  Christian,  was  consecrated  bishop  by  St.  Patrick, 
appointed  bishop  of  Sletty,  and  helped  to  spread  the  faith  through- 
out the  Leinster  province.  In  a  hymn  which  he  composed  in 
honor  of  St.  Patrick,  he  gives  the  name  of  the  Saint's  birth-place 
as  Nemthur,  a  place  which  has  been  identified  as  Nanterre,  at 
the  foot  of  Mont  Valerian,  about  seven  miles  from  Paris.J 

It  is  considered  more  probable  that  St.  Patrick  was  born 
at  Boulogne  II;  but  a  third  view,  very  strongly  supported  and 
very  widely  accepted,  is  that  he  was  born  at  Dumbarton,*  *  in 
Scotland,  in  372.  His  father  was  Calpurnius  a  deacon,  and  it 
appears  a  decurio,  f  f  his  mother  was  Conchessa,  reputed  to  be 
a  relative  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours.  At  all  events,  St.  Patrick 
always  held  St.  Martin  in  great  reverence,  and  it  seems  not 
improbable  that  they  were  bound  by  ties  of  kindred.  In  what 
manner  he  spent  his  early  years  is  not  known.  In  his  Confession 
he  says  himself  that  "  up  to  his  sixteenth  year  he  did  not  know 
God,"  and  if  these  words  be  taken  literally,  they  would  indicate 
that  he  lived  as  a  pagan,  having  no  respect  for  Christian  truths. 
But  the  humility  of  a  Saint — and  St.  Patrick  had  to  the  full 
a  Saint's  humility — would  prompt  him  to  magnify  his  faults 
and  minimise  his  merits,  and  the  words  may  justly  be  regarded 
to  mean — that  he  lived,  as  so  many  youths  have  done,  believing 
as  a  Christian,  but  heedless  of  the  practices  of  his  religion,  not 
necessarily  guilty  of  any  grave  offence  against  faith  or  morals, 
but  rather  of  those  sins  of  omission  and  carelessness,  which 
so  often  spring  from  the  waywardness  of  youth. 

*  This  is  especially  the  case  with  Jocelin.   (Life  and  Acts  of  St.  Patrick.) 
t  Gibbon,  Vol.  Il.j  p.  308. 

X  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick^  Vol.  II. 5  pp.  403-5  ;  a  work  edited 
with  great  care  and  learning  by  Whitley  Stokes,  and  published  in  the  Rolls 
Series. 

II  This  is  the  opinion  of  Lanigan  and  of  Alzog. 

*  *  Tripartite^  Vol.  I.;  p.  9  There  is  no  question  connected  with  St. 
Patrick's  life  and  labours  more  hotly  contested  than  the  question  of  the 
place  of  his  birth.  The  battle  still  rages,  and  with  little  prospect  that  we 
are  nearing  its  close. 

tt  Tripartite,  Vol.  II.,  p.  357  :  Morris's  St.  Patrick  (4th  edition)^  p.  57; 

D 


34  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

About  388,  Nial  the  Irish  king  made  a  predatory  expedition 
into  Britain,  plundered  and  robbed  as  he  went  along  the  coast, 
and  making  a  descent  near  Dumbarton,  carried  away  St.  Patrick 
and  a  number  of  others  as  captives.  The  Saint  was  sold  as  a 
slave  to  a  pagan  chief,  Milcho,*  in  Antrim,  and  here  he  spent 
six  years.  The  son  of  a  Roman  decurio,  and  therefore  brought 
up  tenderly,  he  must  have  felt  all  the  more  keenly  the  condition 
to  which  he  was  reduced.  Dressed  in  the  poorest  fashion,  his 
diet  of  the  coarsest,  his  position  that  of  a  slave,  his  occupation 
herding  cattle  and  swine,  nothing  was  wanting  to  complete  his 
misery.  In  this  condition  many  would  have  murmured  against 
Providence,  perhaps  fallen  into  despair,  but  it  is  in  such 
circumstances  that  patience  is  tried  and  virtue  gathers  strength. 
St.  Patrick  took  it  all  as  punishment  for  the  sins  of  his  youth, 
and  neither  murmured  nor  repined.  The  snow  and  the  sleet 
fell,  the  frost  came,  the  biting  wind  swept  over  the  hills  of 
Dalriada,  and  to  St.  Patrick,  clad  in  the  scanty  dress  of  a  slave, 
it  must  have  been  trying  in  the  extreme.  Yet,  he  bore  it  all 
patiently,  and  whilst  he  faithfully  tended  his  master's  property, 
he  constantly  turned  to  God  in  his  afflictions,  and  a  hundred 
times  in  the  day  and  as  many  times  in  the  night  he  prayed  .f  About 
395  as  the  result  of  a  vision,:j:  he  himself  says,  he  escaped  to  the 
coast,  embarked  on  board  a  vessel  lying  at  anchor  there,  and 
after  many  hardships  got  back  to  his  native  land. 

From  the  time  of  St.  Patrick's  arrival  in  Britain  until  his 
second  coming  to  Ireland  in  432,  there  is  an  interval  of  nearly 
forty  years  during  which,  what  he  did  and  where  he  spent  his 
time,  is  not  satisfactorily  explained.  The  current  tradition 
is  that  he  went  to  Tours  to  his  relative  St.  Martin,  and  that  here 
he  spent  the  closing  years  of  the  fourth  century.  His  journey 
to  Tours  was  made  in  the  depth  of  winter,  at  Christmas  time, 
when  the  cold  was  intense  and  by  the  banks  of  the  Loire,  some 
distance  from  Tours,  the  Saint  took  refuge  under  a  blackthorn 
tree.  The  local  tradition  is  that  to  shield  him  from  the  cold 
as  well  as  to  honor  him,  the  shrub  expanded  |1  its  branches,  shook 
off  the  snow  with  which  it  was  covered  and  arra^^ed  itself  in 
flowers,  white  as  the  snow  itself.    The  shrub  still  exists,  and  still 

*  Tripartite,  I.j  p.    19. 

t  Ibidem,  II. ^  p.   361. 

+  On  a  certain  night  he  had  heard  a  voice  in  his  sleep  saying  that  he 
should  soon  return  to  his  own  country,  and  again  after  a  short  time  he 
heard  a  voice  saying  that  his  ship  was  ready — not  near  at  hand  but  distant 
— "  Ducenta  Millia  Passus,"  a  place  unknown  to  him  and  where  he  knew 
nobody. 

II  Morris's  St.  Patrick — Appendix.  The  shrub  was  seen,  in  1850,  by 
Mgr.  Chevaillier^  President  of  the  Archaeological  Society  of  Touraine,  and 
by  Father  Morris  himself,  in  1881. 


ST.   PATRICK. 


35 


in  the  midst  of  winter,  is  covered  with  foliage  and  flowers,  while 
all    other  such  shrubs  in  the  locality  are  leafless  and  bare,  and 
so    it    has    been    from    time    immemorial.       Such    is    the    tra- 
dition.      The  village  where  the  phenomenon  occurs  year  after 
year  is  called  St.  Patrice  and  the  flowers  of  the  shrub  are  called 
by  the  natives  "  les  fleurs  de  St.   Patrice."    After  this  strange 
adventure,  St.    Patrick   reached   the   monastery   of   St.    Martin. 
Originally  a  soldier,  Martin  deserted  the  camp  for    the  cloister, 
and   at   Marmoutier,   near  Tours,   established   a   community  of 
monks.     The  fame  of  his    sanctity  went  abroad,  and  in  a  short 
time  he    found  himself  surrounded  by  nearly  eighty  followers 
zealous  to  imitate  his  virtues.      From  the  cell  of  a  monk  he  vv'as 
raised  to  the  throne  of  a  bishop,  but  the  honors  of  the  episcopacy 
he  did  not  seek,  and  in  his  humility  would  have  declined,  and 
as    Bishop  of  Tours,  he  still  lived  the  mortified  life   of  a  monk.* 
He  still  dwelt  in  a  monk's  cell,  gave  his  means  to  the  poor,  lived 
on  bread  and  water,  always  wore  haircloth,  and  in  the  austerity 
of  his  life  and  the  severity  of  his    mortifications,  his  biographer 
might  challenge  a  comparison  with  even  St.  Basil  or  St.  Antony .f 
When  St.  Martin  died,  about  400,  Patrick  returned  to  his 
relatives  in  Britain  where  he  remained  but  a  short  time.     Once 
more  he  went  to  Gaul  and  placed  himself  under  the  guidance 
•of  St.  Germanus  of  Auxerre.     This  saint's  career  was  not  unlike 
that  of  St.  Martin.J    An  advocate  and  an  orator,  he  had  practised 
in  the  Roman  courts,  where  he  acquired  a  reputation  for  eloquence. 
A  successful  man  of    the  world  and  addicted  to  its  pleasures,  he 
suddenly  changed   his  life,  relinquished  fame  and  riches,    and 
for  the  applause  of  the  world  he    substituted  the  solitude    and 
obscurity  of  a  convent  cell.     Like  St.  Martin,  from  being  a  monk 
he  became  a  bishop,  but  it  was  his  rank  and  not  his  life  that  was 
changed,  for  he  still  wore  his  shirt  of  hair-cloth,  never  drank 
wine  and   slept  on  the  bare   earth.      It    was   here    St.  Patrick 
acquired  most  of  his  learning,  here  he  was  advanced  to  the  priest- 
hood, and  here  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  thirty  years. |I     The 
state  of  Ireland  was  often  before  his  mind  ;  in  his  visions  and 
dreams  he  heard  the  plaintive  cry  of  its  people  asking  him  to 
come  and  walk  among  them  ;  *  *   and  in  his  waking  moments 
he  must  have  mourned  over  their  pitiable  condition,  steeped  in 
paganism  and   error.     Amongst  them,   he  felt  was  his  call   to 
labour,  and,  after  consultation,  he  resolved  to  proceed  to  Rome 

*  Healy's  Ancient  Schools  and  Scholars ^  pp.  44-5.- 
t  Gibbon,  Vol.  II.,  p.   505. 
X  Healy,  p.  47. 

II  Morris^  pp.  86-75  thinks  he  wandered  about  a  good  deal  from  one 
monastery  to  another. 
**  Healy,  p.  71. 


2)6  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

for  the  necessary  authority.  Before  leaving  he  stayed  for  some 
time  at  the  monastery  of  Lerins,  then  presided  over  by  St. 
Honoratus,  thence  he  passed  on  to  Rome.  He  took  his  way 
through  Ivrea,  and  was  there  consecrated  bishop  by  Amator 
whom  Cardinal  Moran  thinks  was  no  other  than  St.  Maximus  ;* 
and  at  Rome  he  was  commissioned  by  St.  Celestine  to  proceed 
to  Ireland.  Those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  denying  his  Roman 
mission  would  do  well  to  remember  the  sensible  words  of  Father 
Morris  that  "  it  merely  meant  the  apostolic  blessing  on  one  who 
was  about  to  go  in  search  of  martyrdom."  f  On  his  return 
from  Rome,  St.  Patrick  passed,  accompanied  by  some  priests 
and  bishops,  through  Gaul  and  Britain,  and  finally  arrived 
in  Ireland  in  432. 

To  the  traditional  account  of  St.  Patrick's  life  grave  objections 
are  raised.  They  are  put  with  clearness  by  Whitley  Stokes, 
and  by  him  are  considered  fatal  to  its  acceptance.  %  It  is  said 
that  if  St.  Patrick  was  absent  from  Ireland  nearly  forty  years, 
he  would  have  forgotten  to  speak  the  Irish  language  in  432, 
and  he  appears  to  have  been  able  to  speak  it :  that  if  he  lived 
so  long  in  the  school  of  St.  Germanus  he  would  be  able  to  write 
better  Latin  than  he  wrote  in  his  Confession  ;  that  one  so  zealous 
to  convert  the  Irish  would  never  wait  for  forty  years  to  begin  : 
and  most  fatal  objection  of  all — that  if  he  was  absent  from 
Ireland  so  long  he  could  not  write,  as  he  has  done,  that  he  lived 
among  the  Irish  from  his  youth.  Regarding  these  objections 
as  fatal  to  the  current  tradition,  Whitley  Stokes  has  his  own 
theory  which  is  that  St.  Patrick,  after  escaping  from  captivity, 
went  to  Gaul,  acquired  sufficient  learning  to  get  ordained  there  ; 
then,  as  a  priest,  he  came  to  Ireland,  where  he  remained  several 
years,  but  meeting  with  poor  success  went  back  to  Gaul,  and 
thence  to  Rome,  where  he  was  consecrated  bishop,  and  then 
returned   to  Ireland. 

This  theory  is  plausible  but  not  necessarily  true,  for  what 
is  plausible  is  not  always  true.  Nor  should  the  current  tradition 
be  lightly  set  aside  for  what  after  all  is  but  a  theory.  If  St. 
Patrick  never  met  any  Irish  in  Gaul  and  never  spoke  Irish 
for  nearly  forty  years,  probably  he  would  have  forgotten  it 
altogether.  But  there  was  intercourse  between  Ireland  and  Gaul, 
there  were  Christians  in  Ireland,  and  might  not  some  of  these 
have  met  St.  Patrick  in  Gaul,  perhaps  occupied  cells  at 
Marmoutier  or  Auxerre  ?  St.  Patrick  evidently  looked  forward 
for  years  to  preaching  the  Gospel  in  Ireland,  he  firmly  believed 
he  was  divinely  called  to  do  so,  and  to  speak  the  Irish  language 

*■  Morris,-  p.    113. 

t  Ibid.i  p.    115. 

%   Tripartite,  Vol.  I^  Introduction,;  p.    138. 


ST.    PATRICK.  IJ 

he  knew  would  be  a  necessary  preparation  for  the  work,  and 
whatever  opportunities  were  thrown  in  his  way  to  speak  it 
he  would  certainly  seize.  To  write  a  language  with  facility 
requires  practice,  and  perhaps  St.  Patrick  had  but  little  practice 
in  writing  Latin  at  Auxerre.  In  Ireland  he  had  much  less, 
for  his  time  was  occupied  in  preaching  to  the  people,  founding 
churches  and  schools,  passing  from  one  district  to  another, 
but  everywhere  speaking  the  language  of  the  people  amongst 
whom  he  lived.  It  was  at  the  close  of  his  life  that  he  wrote 
his  Confession.  He  had  then  spent  nearly  sixty  years  in  Ireland, 
his  tongue  and  pen  had  become  habituated  only  to  the  Irish 
language,  and  by  that  time  he  would  have  lost  the  art — if  he 
ever  had  it — of  writing  Latin  with  facility.  His  zeal  to  convert 
the  Irish  was  undoubted,  but  zeal  to  be  effective  must  be  tempered 
by  prudence.  He  should  first  acquire  knowledge,  which  to 
one  so  ignorant  as  he  was  when  he  escaped  from  Ireland,  must 
have  taken  many  years.  When  he  had  acquired  the  knowledge, 
he  should  consult  his  superiors,  he  should  await  their  decision 
and  act  on  their  advice,  and  this  might  take  many  years  more. 
And  there  are  indications  that  from  men  he  got  contradictions 
and  disappointments  in  abundance,  and  that  nothing  but  the 
conviction  that  his  call  was  from  heaven  could  have  sustained 
him  through  all  these  years.*  If  we  are  compelled  to  take 
the  words  "  from  my  youth"  (a  juventute  mea)  f  in  the  strictly 
literal  sense  they  would  mean  that  St.  Patrick  came  to  Ireland 
at  latest  in  412,  that  is  before  he  had  passed  his  fortieth  year. 
But  it  may  be  that  the  words  are  to  be  taken  differently.  When 
St.  Patrick  wrote  he  was  an  old  man,  and  had  already  laboured 
for  over  fifty  years  in  Ireland.  And  as  he  remembered  the 
dangers  he  passed  through,  the  hardships  he  underwent,  the 
miseries  he  had  borne  through  that  long  space  of  time,  he  must 
have  thought  that  at  the  commencement  the  vigour  and  activity 
of  youth  were  his,  and  that  in  everything — even  in  years — he  was 
young.  Perhaps,  it  may  be  that  he  contemplates,  not  the  number 
of  his  years,  but  rather  the  vigour  and  activity  of  his  body  and 
mind.  However,  the  words  be  explained,  the  year  432  has  been 
taken  as  the  year    of  his  arrival  in  Ireland. 

He  found  many  things  changed  since  his  escape  from  captivity. 
Nial  of  the  Nine  Hostages  was  dead  :  he  was  assassinated  in 
405  in  Gaul.  %  He  left  a  numerous  family  among  whom  his 
dominions  were  divided,  the  Ulster  portion  going  to  his  sons, 
Owen  and  Connell,  from  whose  names  their  territories  came  to  be 
called  Tirowen  and  Tirconnell.     Nial's  nephew,  Dathi,  was  his 

*  Morris,  p.   103. 

t  Smith's  Latin  Dictionary. 

X  Four  Masters;    Keating,  p.  326J 


38  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

successor  as  Ardri,  and  he  too  made  incursions  into  Britain 
and  Gaul.  Tradition  has  it  that  while  leading  his  army  at 
the  foot  of  the  Alps  he  was,  in  the  year  428,  killed  by  lightning. 
Then  Laeghaire,  son  of  Nial,  became  Ardri.  There  were 
Christians  in  Ireland  in  these  days,  and  in  430  Palladius, a  bishop* 
and  native  of  Britain  was  sent  by  Pope  Celestine  "  to  the  Scots 
who  believed  in  Christ."  To  what  extent  Christianity  existed 
is  uncertain,  but  the  number  of  Christians  must  have  been  few. 
Palladius  met  with  many  obstacles,  and  this,  coupled,  perhaps, 
with  the  feebleness  of  declining  health,  must  have  disheartened 
him.  He  left  Ireland  and  returned  to  Britain,  where  he  soon 
died,  leaving  to  St.  Patrick  both  the  labour  and  the  glory  of 
converting  the  Irish. 

St.  Patrick  landed  in  Ireland,  probably  at,  or  near.  Bray,  in 
the  County  of  Wicklow.  In  the  spirit  of  a  Saint  returning  good 
for  evil,  his  first  care  was  for  his  old  master,  Milcho,  who  still  lived, 
and  with  the  object  of  converting  him  he  proceeded  northwards. 
But  the  stern  old  pagan  would  have  none  of  his  Christianity  : 
a  pagan  he  was  born  and  a  pagan  he  would  die.  Rather  than 
meet  St.  Patrick  and  submit  to  the  indignity  of  being  instructed 
by  his  former  slave,  he  set  his  house  on  fire  and  taking  his  treasures 
jumped  into  the  flames,  where  he  perished.  |  With  Dichu, 
another  Ulster  chief,  Patrick  was  more  successful.  He  and 
his  household  were  baptised  and  he  also  gave  Patrick  a  site 
for  his  first  church  at  Saul,  near  Downpatrick,  where  long  after- 
wards the  Apostle  died.  Passing  southwards,  St.  Patrick  met 
near  Dundalk  a  youth  named  Benin,  or  Benignus,  who 
became  his  most  attached  follower  as  well  as  coadjutor  in  the 
Archdiocese  of  Armagh.  It  was  at  Slane  and  in  sight  of  Tara 
itself  that  St.  Patrick  determined  to  celebrate  the  Paschal  feast, 
and  here  he  lighted  the  Paschal  fire.  It  was  a  most  dangerous 
thing  to  do.  The  Ardri  and  his  court  were  then  at  Tara,  and 
were  celebrating  some  great  festival,  perhaps  some  of  the  great 
pagan  festivals,  perhaps  the  birthday  of  the  king  himself.t. 
During  the  continuance  of  the  festival  it  was  unlawful  to  light 
any  other  fire  except  the  fire  of  Tara,  and  whoever  did,  com- 
mitted a  crime  for  which  death  alone  could  atone.  His  Druids 
infromed  the  Ardri  of  the  fire  lighted  at  Slane,  and  one  of  them 
prophetically  announced  that  if  that  fire  is  not  put  out  to-night 
it  will  never  be  put  out  in  Erin.  ||  If  the  fire  represent  the  fire 
of  Christianity  the  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled.  Sometimes,  it 
is  true,  the  fire  has  burnt  low,  the  heat  it  gave  out  was  little, 

*  Healy,  p.  49. 

■f   Tripartite,  Vol.  l.-,  p.  39. 

+  Introduction  to  Book  of  Rights. 

II  Tripartite^  Vol.  I.,  p.  43. 


ST.    PATRICK.  39 

and  its  light  was  dim,  but  it  still  burned,  and  never  once  through 
the   changing   centuries,   has   it  been   completely   extinguished, 

Laeghaire  was  not  of  the  material  of  which  converts  to 
Christianity  are  easily  made.  Brought  up  in  paganism  he 
clung  with  tenacity  to  pagan  errors.  Much  influenced  by  the 
Druids  he  v/ished  for  no  other  priesthood,  regarded  with  ill 
favour  this  new  religion,  which  preached  self-denial  even  to 
kings,  and  looked  with  disdain  upon  its  accredited  apostle,  so 
humble  and  so  poor.  But  the  greatest  difficulty  was  with  the 
Druids.  They  were  fighting  for  their  great  privileges  and  had 
an  instinctive  dread  that  if  Christianity  got  any  foothold,  their 
own  power  was  gone  for  ever.  The  artifices  of  the  dishonest, 
the  tricks  of  the  unscrupulous,  the  weapons  of  despair  and 
even  of  murder  they  did  not  hesitate  to  use,  and  more  than  once 
the  life  of  St.  Patrick  was  attempted.  The  contest  between 
them  and  the  Apostle  reminds  us  of  that  between  Aaron  and 
the  Egyptian  magicians,  and  the  result  in  both  cases  was  the 
same,  for  the  victory  was  with  Patrick  as  with  Aaron.  His 
biographers  tell  with  delight  how  the  Druid,  invoking  the 
ordeal  of  fire,  was  burned  to  ashes,  while  Benignus,  the  Christian 
champion,  remained  untouched  ;  *  how  the  Druids  brought 
snow  as  well  as  darkness  on  the  plain,  but  were  unable  to  remove 
either  until  St.  Patrick  intervened  ;  and  how,  when  the  Ardri, 
enraged  at  the  death  of  his  Druid,  attempted  the  Apostle's  life, 
twelve  thousand  of  the  king's  followers  were  miraculously  slain. 
It  is  easy  to  be  sceptical  about  these  statements,  and  to  scoff 
at  them  as  so  many  childish  fictions,  the  utterances  of  partiality 
and  credulity  ;  but  the  fact  stands  out  that  Christianity  con- 
quered, that  Laeghaire  himself  embraced  the  new  faith  though 
he  did  not  persevere  in  it,  that  Dubhtach,  the  Chief  Poet,  was 
converted,  and  that  thousands  followed  his  example,  and  that, 
at  Tara,  Druidism  received  a  shock  which  wzis  but  the  precursor 
of  its  final  ruin. 

After  remaining  at  Tara  some  time  and  baptising  many, 
.St.  Patrick  proceeded  northwards,  overthrew  the  idol  of  Crom 
Cruach  in  Leitrim,  and  erected  a  Christian  Church  where  it 
had  stood.  From  Leitrim  he  passed  over  the  Shannon  and 
traversed  Connaught,  and  remained  and  laboured  in  that  province 
for  seven  years.  By  the  Druids  alone  was  he  opposed,  by  all 
others  he  was  well  received,  and  among  every  class  his  converts 
were  many.  Among  these  converts  were  the  two  daughters 
of  the  Ardri — Ethne  the  Fair,  and  Fedilm  the  Ruddy.     They 

*  Tripartite^  Vol.  1. 5  p.  57-9.  Both  were  put  into  the  same  house  and 
the  house  set  on  fire  ;  the  Druid  was  placed  in  a  wet  portion  with  a 
Christian  vestment  on  him  ;  yet,  the  Druid  was  burned  though  the  vest- 
ment was  unharmed. 


40  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

were  being  fostered  at  the  palace  of  Cruachan,  and  one  day 
coming  to  a  well  in  the  neighbourhood  to  wash  their  hands, 
they  found  St.  Patrick  accompanied  by  some  of  his  disciples. 
In  the  conversation  that  ensued  St.  Patrick  explained  to  them 
his  religion,  telling  them  that  his  God  was  the  God  of  all  things, 
of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  of  the  sea  and  river,  of  the  sun 
and  moon  and  stars,  of  the  high  mountains  and  lowly  valleys, 
and  he  explained  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity,  and  taking  up 
the  Shamrock  he  pointed  out  that  as  the  three  leaves  grew 
from  one  stem,  so  did  the  three  Divine  persons  partake  of  the 
same  Divine  Nature.*  The  two  princesses  were  converted, 
and  as  they  expressed  a  wish  to  see  Christ  face  to  face  their 
wish  was  granted  ;  they  died  after  being  baptised,  and  "  Patrick 
put  them  under  one  mantle  in  one  bed,  and  their  friends 
bewailed  them  greatly."  At  intervals  during  these  years  in 
Connaught,  St.  Patrick  often  had  recourse  to  long  periods  of 
mortification  and  prayer.  The  place  he  selected  for  his  retire- 
ment was  the  very  summit  of  Croagh  Patrick,  a  mountain 
situated  almost  on  the  edge  of  the  sea,  some  few  miles  from 
Westport  in  Mayo.  Looking  seaward  he  had  before  him  Clew 
Bay  with  its  myriad  islands,  the  roaring  of  the  waves  was  in  his 
ears,  the  winds  howled  and  raged  around  his  head,  the  rain 
fell  as  it  can  fall  only  on  the  western  coast,  and  the  fitful  flashes 
of  lightning  lighted  up  the  desolation  and  gloom.  And  high 
up  above  the  heads  and  the  homes  of  men,  like  Moses  on  Mount 
Sinai,  he  held  solitary  communion  with  God.  He  prayed 
much  and  long,  f  for  the  conversion  of  those  still  in  darkness, 
for  the  perseverance  of  the  converted,  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
infant  Church. 

From  Connaught  the  Saint  passed  to  Ulster,  where  his  move- 
ments are  traced  through  Donegal,  Tirowen,  Dalriadia  in  North 
Antrim,  Dal  Araidhe  in  South  Down,  and  Monaghan.  In 
Tirowen  he  was  hospitably  entertained  by  the  ruling  prince 
Owen,  at  his  palace  at  Ailech,  and  at  Monaghan  he  appointed 
Macarten,  Bishop  of  Clogher.  J  Afterwards  he  is  to  be  found 
in  Meath,  where  he  visited  Tara,  and  about  the  same  time  con- 
secrated Fiac,  Bishop  of  Leinster,||  with  his  episcopal  residence  at 
Sletty.  When  he  had  traversed  the  other  provinces,  he  entered 
Munster  for  the  first  time,  and  there,  as  in  Connaught,  he  re- 
mained for  seven  years,  ^ngus,  the  King  of  Cashel,  received 
him  well,  and   himself  and   his  people  were    baptised  ;  similar 

*  Tripartite^  Vol.  I.j  pp.  101-103:     There  is  a  tradition  that  on  many 
occasions  St.  Patrick  so  used  the  Shamrock  in  his  preaching. 
t   Tripartite,  Vol.  I.j  pp.   1 15-12 1. 
%  Ibid.,  p.    177- 
(I  Ibid.,  p.    19c, 


ST.    PATRICK.  41 

success  awaited  him  among  the  Deisi  ;  and  when  he  left  Munster 
the  greater  part  of  the  province  had  embraced  Christianity. 
Returning  from  Munster  he  passed  through  Leinster,  on  his 
way  to  Armagh,  his  hfe  being  twice  attempted  on  the  way.  Once 
his  charioteer  was  mistaken  for  him  and  was  murdered  ;  and 
further  north,  a  pagan  chief,  Maccuill,  attempted  unsuccessfully 
the  life  of  "  this    shaveling  who  deceives  everyone."* 

At  Armagh,  St.  Patrick  obtained  land  from  a  chieftain  called 
Dare,  and  on  this  land  he  built  a  church  and  made  Armagh 
the  principal  See  of  Ireland,  a  dignity  which  it  still  retains. 

He  could  look  back  on  a  life  of  ceaseless  activity  in  which 
great  results  were  achieved.  He  had  traversed  every  district 
of  Ireland  ;  all  classes  had  listened  to  his  preaching,  and  from 
all  classes  converts  had  been  made.  He  had  met  in  argument 
and  confounded  his  greatest  enemies,  the  Druids.  Brehons  and 
poets,  princes  and  kings,  had  not  only  become  his  disciples, 
but  in  many  cases  his  bishops  and  priests.  A  number  of  high- 
placed  virgins,  following  the  example  of  St.  Bridget,  had  re- 
nounced the  world  and  its  pleasures,  and  retired  into  the  solitude 
of  the  cloister  ;  many  of  them  incurred  the  anger  of  their  parents 
in  doing  so.  He  had,  according  to  Nennius,|  built  365  churches, 
consecrated  an  equal  number  of  bishops,  and  ordained  3,000 
priests.  He  had  held  synods  and  passed  decrees  for  the  govern- 
ment and  regulation  of  the  Church,  amongst  others  that  well 
known  decree  that  whatever  disputes  could  not  be  settled  in 
Ireland  were  to  be  referred  to  Rome.;[:  Whilst  he  yet  lived,  schools 
were  established,  convents  and  monasteries  were  being  rapidly 
multiplied,  the  whole  machinery  of  a  prosperous  church  was  in 
active  operation,  and  a  century  after  his  landing  in  Ireland, 
no  less  than  350  Irish  lived,  whose  names  were  enrolled  among 
the  saints. 

Those  who  regard  the  Church  as  a  mere  human  institution, 
and  reject  everything  but  human  effort  in  the  propagation 
of  its  doctrines,  will  ask  with  surprise  and  incredulity  how  all 
this  could  be  accomplished  by  a  single  man.  In  the  selection 
of  persons  to  assist  him,  and  in  making  use  of  what  opportunities 
were  thrown  in  his  way,  St.  Patrick  showed  great  wisdom. 
Knowing  that  the  common  people  are  like  a  flock  of  sheep,    who 

*  Tripartite,  Vol.  I.,  p.  221.  This  same  Maccuill  soon  after  became 
a  Christian  and  preached  the  faith  in  the  Isle  of  Man. 

t   Tripartite,  Vol.  II.,  p.  500. 

%  Ibid.,  p.  356.  The  words  are  "  quaecumque  causa  valde  difificilis 
exorta  fuerit  atque  ignota  cunctis  Scotorum  judicibus  ad  cathedram  aBpi 
Hiberniensum  i.e.,  Patricii  referenda,  si  vero  in  ilia.  Sanari  non  poterit 
talis  causa  praedictae  negotionis  ad  sedem  apostolicam  decrevimus  esse 
mittendum,  i.e.,  ad  Petri  Apostoli  cathedram  auctoritatem  Romae  urbis 
habentem." 


42  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

will  follow  their  leader,  he  addressed  himself  first  to  the  kings 
and  princes,  and  when  their  conversion  was  effected,  the  task 
with  the  people  was  less  difficult.  The  Brehons  and  Bards,  the 
poets  and  historians,  whose  position  and  learning  claimed  the 
respect  of  the  people,  he  appointed  to  offices  in  the  church  :  the 
Druids,  if  they  became  Christians,  were  treated  similarly  :  but 
with  Druidism  itself  he  would  have  no  parley  and  no  compromise, 
feeling  that  between  it  and  Christianity  there  existed  an  irre- 
concilable antagonism.  He  wished  to  disturb  existing  in- 
stitutions as  little  as  possible.  The  power  of  the  princes,  the 
privileges  of  the  Bards,  the  office  and  duties  of  the  Brehons, 
the  peculiar  constitution  of  the  sept  and  clan  were  the  same 
in  Christian  as  in  pagan  times.  Crom  Cruach  and  his  idols 
were  replaced  by  the  Christian  Church  with  its  cross  :  the  priests 
and  bishops  succeeded  the  Druids,  for  the  feast  of  Beltaine  was 
substituted  the  festival  of  St.  John,  and  for  Samhan  that  of 
St.  Martin.  If  the  laws  were  revised  under  his  supervision, 
as  it  appears  they  were,*  it  was  not  to  abolish  them  altogether  : 
it  was  rather  to  reduce  them  to  order,  to  purge  them  of 
paganism,  to  bring  them  into  harmony  with  the  wants  of 
Christianity. 

Thus  was  the  transition  from  paganism  to  the  Gospel  made 
easy.  The  piety  of  the  Saint,  his  humility  and  poverty,  his 
sympathy  with  the  distressed,  his  charity  to  the  poor,  his  manifest 
sincerity,  his  self-sacrifice,  must  have  attracted  many  towards 
him.  Yet  even  all  this  will  not  explain  how  one  so  poor,  without 
great  learning  or  exalted  birth,  was  able  to  overcome  the  fierce 
opposition  of  the  Druids,  to  bring  a  whole  nation  to  the  faith, 
and  to  level  to  the  dust  the  most  venerated  idols  of  paganism. 
It  may  be  remembered  that  when  St.  Paul  preached,  it  was  not 
in  the  lofty  strains  of  human  eloquence,  that  it  was  Gallilean 
fishermen,  and  not  philosophers,  who  were  selected  to  preach 
the  Gospel  through  all  lands,  and  when  these  things  are  re- 
membered, St.  Patrick  will  be  more  easily  recognised  as  but  a 
capable  and  willing  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  Divine  Founder 
of  his  faith.  The  closing  years  of  his  life  were  spent  at  Saul, 
near  Downpatrick,  and  during  these  years  of  retirement  he 
wrote  his  Confession,  and  perhaps  also  his  Epistle  to  Caroticus.  j 
The  Confession  is  an  explanation  of  his  own  conduct  and  motives; 
the  Epistle  is  addressed  partly  in  entreaty,  partly  in  anger,  to  a 

*  This  was  done  by  a  Committee  of  nine  persons — three  kings,  Laeghaire 
Core  and  Daire  :  three  "  Saints,"  Patrick,  Benen  (Benignus)  and  Carineach,. 
and  three  antiquaries,  Ross,  Dubthach  and  Fearghus.  {Four  Masters,  at 
the  vear  438.) 

t  He  wrote  two  letters  to  Caroticus,  but  it  is  only  the  second  of  these 
which  has  survived. 


ST.    PATRICK.  43 

British  prince  who  had  pillaged  the  Irish  coast,  and  brought 
away  some  of  the  Christian  Irish  into  captivity.  Petrie  gives 
the  date  of  St.   Patrick's  death  as  493. 

The  civil  history  of  the  period  contains  little  worth  recording. 
Like  his  predecessors,  Nial  and  Dathi,  Laeghaire  continued  to 
harass  the  Britons,  and  the  sufferings  of  that  afflicted  people 
must  have  been  great.  In  a  petition  for  help  to  the  Roman 
Consul  (446),  which  was  appropriately  styled  the  "  Groans  of  the 
Britains,"  they  complain  that  they  are  entirely  at  the  mercy 
of  the  Picts  and  Scots  ;  and  that  while  these  savages  drive  them 
into  the  sea,  the  sea  flings  them  back  upon  the  land  ;  so  that 
theirs  was  the  pitiable  alternative,  either  to  perish  in  the  waves, 
or  be  murdered  upon  land.  But  no  help  came  from  Rome. 
The  resources  of  the  Empire  were  strained  to  the  utmost  in  the 
struggle  with  Attila,  and  while  Italy  and  even  Rome  was 
menaced,  Britain  was  forgotten.  In  this  extremity  the  Britons 
appealed  to  the  pirates  of  the  German  Ocean  ;  and  these  came 
as  mercenaries,  but  were  soon  strong  enough  to  remain  as  masters. 
Henceforth  the  Irish  king  found  it  more  prudent  to  cease  his 
foreign  depredations  :  yet  at  home  he  was  not  at  peace,  and 
in  exacting  the  Boru  tribute  his  relations  with  Leinster  were  those 
of  perpetual  and  bitter  conflict.  Before  his  death  (458)  he 
relapsed  into  paganism,  thinking  that  if  he  died  a  Christian 
he  would  insult  the  memory  of  his  pagan  ancestors.  He  was 
buried  at  Tara,  standing  erect,  clothed  in  full  armour,*  his  face 
turned  towards  the  Leinstermen,  so  that  in  death,  as  in  life,  he 
would  seem  to  menace  his  ancient  foe.  Of  the  two  succeeding^ 
Ardris,  Oliol  Molt,  who  died,  in  479,  and  Lughaid,  who  reigned 
at  the  opening  of  the  sixth  century,  we  know  nothing  except 
that  they  were  kings. 

*  This  must  have  been  nothing  more  than  the  usual  dress  he  wore  in 
battle.  Chain  armour  was  unknown  in  Ireland  and  was  not  worn  even 
at  the  battle  of  Clontarf.' 


CHAPTER    VI. 


Progress  of  Religion  and  Learning. 

St.  Patrick  and  the  training  of  the  clergy — First  Christian  Schools — 
The  clergy  and  the  Clans — The  beginning  of  Monasticism — St.  Enda, 
St.  Finian  of  Clonard,  St.  Brendan — Nuns — St.  Bridget — Life  and 
labours  of  St.  Columba — Leaves  Ireland  for  lona — Converts  the  Picts — 
Attended  Convention  of  Drumcat — Dies  at  lona — Bardic  schools — 
The  Tain  Bo  Cuailgne — Monastic  Schools — Clonmacnoise — Columban 
schools — Adamnan — School  of  Bangor — Lismore — St.  Kevin  of 
Glendalough — Irish  Missionaries  abroad — In  Caledonia — Among  the 
Anglo-Saxons  in  Continental  lands — Orthodoxy  of  the  Irish  Church — 
Pelagianism — The  Paschal  dispute. 

Of  the  many  difficulties  that  surrounded  the  labours  of  St. 
Patrick,  after  his  arrival  in  Ireland,  one  of  the  greatest  was 
the  want  of  a  native  ministry.  Bishops  and  priests  accompanied 
him  on  his  coming  to  Ireland,  in  432,  but  they  were  from  Britain 
and  Gaul,  and  must  have  been  totally,  or  at  least  partially, 
ignorant  of  the  Irish  tongue.*  Bishops  and  priests  were  wanted, 
who  could  preach  to  the  unconverted  in  their  own  language 
and  at  the  same  time  supply  the  needs  of  the  converted.  The 
want  was  soon  partially  supplied.  Wherever  St.  Patrick  found 
suitable  candidates  with  the  necessary  amount  of  virtue  and 
zeal,  he  made  them  part  of  his  special  following,  had  them  taught 
as  he  went  from  place  to  place,  and  as  soon  as  they  were  able 
to  read  the  Scriptures,  had  even  an  elementary  knowledge  of  the 
truths  of  Christianity,  and  were  able  to  explain  these  truths 
to  the  people,  no  matter  how  rudely,  he  had  them  ordained 
priests.t  To  be  able  to  read  and  write  was  necessary  for  the 
clergy,  though  little  else  was  exacted.  Nor  were  their  outfit 
and  personal  belongings  more  imposing  than  their  intellectual 
equipment.  A  priest  had  his  catechism,  his  missal,  his  ritual 
for  administering  the  sacraments,  his  copy  of  the  Scriptures  for 
preaching  to  the  people  ;  whilst  a  bishop  had,  in  addition,  a  bell, 

*  Montalambert— i!^^«/^5  of  the  West— Book  VIIi.j  Chap.  3. 
t  Healy,  pp.  58-63. 


PROGRESS  OF   RELIGION   AND  LEARNING.  4$ 

a  chalice,  a  crozier,  and  a  leathern  satchell  in  which  his  few  books 
were  contained.*  Thus  scantily  dowered  and  rich  only  in  faith 
and  zeal,  these  soldiers  of  the  Cross  went  forth  to  wage  war  against 
the  hosts  of  paganism. 

But  this  primitive  simplicity  soon  passed  away.  About 
450,  a  college  was  founded  at  Armagh,  of  which  St.  Benignus 
was  given  charge,  and  the  great  object  of  which  was  to  train 
subjects  for  the  priesthood.  In  that  college  were  taught 
theology  and  the  Scriptures,  a  knowledge  of  Latin,  and  perhaps 
Greek  was  acquired,  and  to  supply  the  various  churches  with 
books,  there  was  a  special  house  in  which  students  were 
employed  as  Scribes.  In  the  opening  years  of  the  sixth  century, 
the  rector  of  the  school  of  Armagh  was  Gildas,  the  historian  of 
the  Britons.f  Under  the  auspices  of  St.  Bridget  and  St.  Conleth, 
a  school  was  founded  at  Kildare  :  a  school  was  founded  at  Noen- 
drum  by  St.  Mochua  ;  whilst  Moctha  founded  the  school  of 
Louth.  These  schools  had  soon  an  abundance  of  students,  and 
the  Church  a  supply  of  educated  bishops  and  priests. 

In  each  clan  there  was  at  least  one  bishop,  perhaps  more, 
for  dioceses  were  not  yet  established  and  a  bishop's  power  was 
not  restricted  within  certain  territorial  limits,  to  the  exclusion 
of  all  other  bishops.  X  A  grant  of  land  was  soon  given  the  bishop 
by  the  clan,  and  here  he  built  his  church  and  his  school,  if  he 
had  one,  and  with  the  priests  who  assisted  him,  and  the  necessary 
retainers,  who  cultivated  the  land,  here  he  lived.  Of  this  little 
society,  modelled  on  the  clan,  the  bishop  was  the  chief,  but  he 
sought  for  no  personal  indulgence  and  possessed  no  private 
wealth,  for  what  property  there  was,  was  the  common  property  of 
all,  and  if  he  desired  any  ascendancy  over  those  with  whom 
he  lived,  it  was  only  what  might  come  from  harder  labour  and 
greater  austerities.  These  bishops  and  priests  of  necessity 
mixed  much  with  the  laity  by  whom  they  were  surrounded,  for 
they  had  to  preach  to  them,  to  administer  the  sacraments,  to 
adjust  their  differences,  if  that  were  possible,  to  sit  in  their 
assemblies  and  their  banquet-halls. 

There  were  many  ardent  natures  to  whom  this  condition 
of  things  was  distasteful  ;  and  from  the  very  first  the  spirit  of 
monasticism  existed  in  the  Irish  Church.  St.  Patrick  was 
educated  under  St.  Martin  and  St.  Germanus,  two  famous  monks; 
his  co-workers  in  Ireland  most  likely  grew  up  under  monastic 
influence,  and,  in  the  churches  they  established,  the  bishop  and 
his  clergy  in  their  mode  of  living,  in  their  relations  with  each 
other,  were  not  unlike  the  abbot  and  his  monks.     But  to   mingle 

*  Healy,  p.  64. 

t  Ibtd.i  pp.   1 17-120. 

I  Monks  of  the  West,  Book  VIII.,  Chap.  3. 


46  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

in  society  and  indulge  in  social  intercourse  is  repugnant  to  the 
monastic  state,  for  the  very  name  monk  suggests  a  solitary, 
who  lives  apart  and  alone,  communing  only  with  his  God.  Many 
wishing  to  be  perfect  embraced  this  state  with  all  that  it  implied. 
Leaving  everything — friends,  family  and  wealth — they  retired 
to  some  unfrequented  spot.  The  waters  of  the  neighbouring 
river  (they  generally  settled  near  a  river),  quenched  their  thirst; 
the  herbs  that  grew  on  its  banks  satisfied  the  pangs  of  hunger. 
They  fasted,  they  prayed,  they  wept  for  their  own  sins  and  the 
sins  of  others.  Their  only  shelter  was  a  few  wattles  covered  with 
sods,  and  when  night  came  they  stretched  their  ill-clad  bodies 
on  the  bare  floor,  and  not  unfrequently  they  slept  in  the  open 
air.  In  a  colder  climate  and  amid  harsher  surroundings,  there 
was  soon  repeated  the  wonders  of  the  Egyptian  desert.  These 
solitaries  soon  became  objects  of  veneration  and  awe,  and  the 
traveller,  as  he  passed  their  little  huts,  crossed  himself  devoutly, 
muttered  a  prayer  and  asked  the  holy  man's  blessing  on  his 
journey.  But  the  monk's  retreat  was  soon  invaded  and  no 
longer  was  he  allowed  the  privilege  of  being  alone.  Others 
came,  eager,  like  himself,  for  perfection.  They  came  to  share 
his  poverty  and  mortifications,  to  copy  his  example,  to  be  guided 
by  his  advice,  to  sit  at  his  feet  and  learn  wisdom.  Each  new- 
comer built  his  own  hut ;  a  church  was  constructed,  a  grant 
of  land  obtained,  their  master  soon  became  their  abbot,  and  usually 
their  bishop,  and  they  became  his  monks.  It  was  thus,  from 
such  modest  beginnings,  that  some  ot  the  most  splendid 
monastic  establishments  took  their  rise. 

Of  these  Abbots,  one  of  the  most  notable  of  the  sixth  century, 
was  St.  Enda  of  Arran.  Born  about  450,  and  son  of  the  king 
of  Oriel,  at  his  father's  death  he  became  king,  but  through  the 
persuasion  of  his  sister — St.  Fanchea* — who  was  a  nun,  he  re- 
signed the  crov/n,  and  became  a  monk.  With  that  craving 
for  solitude,  which  was  so  characteristic  of  the  period,  he  asked, 
and  obtained  from  his  relative,  the  king  of  Munster,  a  grant  of 
the  Isles  of  Arran,  in  Galway  Bay,  and  here  he  arrived  in  484. 
For  the  purpose  he  had  in  view,  for  solitude,  penance  and  mortifi- 
cation, the  place  was  not  ill-chosen.  The  salt  sea,  the  limestone 
rock,  the  sea-birds  perched  upon  the  cliffs,  the  sea- weed  and 
the  fish — these  are  plentiful  in  Arran  :  but  there  is  nothing  else 
in  abundance  ;  the  herbage  is  scant,  the  soil  is  light,  the  crops 
often  fail  ;  and  from  the  midst  of  the  melancholy  ocean  there 
comes  year  after  year  the  pitiful  cry  of  hunger.  The  narrow 
limits  of  these  islands  were  too  small  for  Enda's  fame  ;  it  travelled 
across  the  sea  to  the  mainland,  and    soon  men  came  from  all 

*  She  was  Abbess  or  Superioress  of  a  convent  near  Enniskillen.  (Healy,i 
p.   165.) 


PROGRESS   OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING,  47 

parts  of  Ireland  to  partake  of  his  mortifications  and  sanctity. 
His  disciples  in  a  short  time  numbered  one  hundred  and  fifty  ; 
what  they  were  at  his  death  in  540,  no  one  can  tell  :  and  of  those 
who  died  the  death  of  saints  in  Arran,  and  lie  buried  in  its  con- 
secrated soil  the  number  is  known  only  to  God.*  Their  lives 
were  of  great  self-denial.  During  the  day  they  fished  in  the 
sea,  or  cultivated  little  patches  of  land  among  the  rocks  :  others 
ground  the  meal  and  baked  the  bread  ;  and  when  night  came 
they  retired  to  their  little  stone  cells — ^beehive  shaped — and  never 
warmed  by  a  fire.  Wine  they  never  tasted,  meat  hardly  ever, 
and  in  prayer  and  mortification  and  the  practice  of  the  most 
rigid  austerities  their  whole  lives    were  spent. 

Not  less  remarkable  than  St.  Enda  was  St.  Finian  of  Clonard. 
The  son  of  a  Leinster  Chief,  and  born  in  470,  he  received  most  of 
his  education  in  Wales,  where  he  had  as  his  school -fellows,  or 
perhaps  as  his  teachers,  St.  David,  St.  Gildus  and  St.  Cadoc. 
Returning  to  Ireland,  in  510,  he  founded  more  than  one  monastery 
in  Wexford  and  Wicklow,  but  in  these  places  he  lived  with  others, 
and  his  desire  was  to  be  alone.  Leaving  his  monks,  he  retired 
to  Clonard  in  Meath.  His  drink  was  the  waters  of  the  Boyne 
on  whose  banks  his  retreat  was  situated,  his  food  was  herbs  and 
fish,  his  companions,  the  wild  beasts,  his  occupation,  the  study 
of  the  Scriptures  and  prayer.  His  humility,  his  sanctity,  his 
learning,  his  eloquence  in  expounding  the  Scriptures,  charmed 
and  attracted  many  who  came  to  visit  him.  His  lonely  retreat  was 
soon  invaded  by  those  who  wished  to  share  his  privations  and 
to  benefit  by  his  teaching,  other  cells  were  built  and  inhabited, 
and  but  a  short  time  elapsed  until  three  thousand  disciples  looked 
to  St.  Finian  as  their  master.  Clonard  became  the  most  famous 
monastery  in  Ireland,  and  Finian  the  most  famous  teacher. 
Even  Abbots  who  heard  him  were  satisfied  that  from  him  they 
had  much  to  learn.  He  has  been  called  the  the  tutor  of  the  Irish 
Saints,  and  if  the  monks  of  the  sixth  century  became  Saints  at 
Arran,  they  became  scholars  at  Clonard.  Columba  of  lona, 
Canice  of  Kilkenny,  Rhodanus  of  Lorrha,  Brendan  of  Birr, 
Kevin  of  Glendalough,  all  these  were  at  one  time  or  other  at 
Arran  or  Clonard.  Nor  should  Kieran  be  omitted,  who,  in  540, 
founded  the  monastery  and  school  at  Clonmacnoise,  a  school  which 
soon  far  exceeded  in  influence  and  importance  even  Clonard  itself. 

Much  has  been  written  of  another  of  these  pupils — Brendan 
of  Clonfert — and  many  poetic  legends  have  clustered  round  his 
name.  He  has  been  called  Brendan,  the  Navigator.  He  was 
adventurous  and  daring,  loved  travel  and  change,  and  desired 
of  all  things  to  traverse  the  sea  and    discover  unknown  lands. 

*  It  was  called  "  Arran  of  the  Saints."  (Moran's  Essays,  p.  132);  vid.  also 
Lanigan,  Chap.  10. 


48  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

By  land  he  visited  many  of  the  great  monasteries  of  Ireland,  and 
from  his  native  home  in  Kerry,  he  launched  his  little  currach 
on  the  deep.  He  visited  the  islands  round  the  coast,  crossed  the 
Shannon,  went  as  far  as  Wales,  and  penetrated  even  to  lona, 
to  see  his  old  friend  Columba.  Poetic  legend  speaks  of  his 
v^anderings  over  the  Atlantic,  where  far  to  the  West,  he  found 
a  delightful  isle,  where  the  breezes  were  laden  with  celestial 
odours,  where  flowers  of  every  hue  grew  in  abundance,  where 
neither  rain  nor  hail  nor  frost  was  known,  and  where  he  was 
accosted  by  an  angel  of  the  Lord  who  commanded  him  to  return 
to  his  native  land.  Whatever  opinions  there  may  be  about  this 
island,  or  about  the  luxuriance  and  splendour  of  its  vegetation, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  luxuriant  imagination  of  the 
poet.*  In  560,  Brendan  founded  a  school  and  monastery  at 
Clonfert,  which  afterwards  acquired  fame,  and,  in  577,  his 
wanderings  on  this  earth  ceased.  In  that  year  in  the  monastery 
of  Annaghdown,  in  Gahvay,  a  monastery  built  on  the  edge  of 
Lough  Corrib,  St.    Brendan  sank  to  rest. 

But  it  was  not  only  monks  and  their  monasteries  that  flourished 
during  that  period.  St.  Patrick  could  boast  in  his  Confession 
that  many  daughters  of  the  Irish  had  renounced  the  pleasures 
of  the  world  and  lived  as  virgins,  many  in  the  face  of  strong  and 
persistent  opposition.  Some  of  them  lived  with  their  friends,  and 
in  striking  contrast  to  the  dissipations  and  crimes  around  them 
they  prayed  and  fasted,  chastised  their  bodies  and  were  anxious 
only  for  their  souls.  Others,  like  the  sister  of  Benignus,  were 
privileged  and  regarded  it  as  such  to  wait  upon  St.  Patrick 
and  his  companions.  For  the  ever-increasing  number  of  these 
virgins, retreats  were  required, where  they  could  live  in  community 
subject  to  a  common  head  and  bound  by  a  common  rule.  Of 
those  who  founded  such  retreats,  the  most  remarkable  was  St. 
Bridget.  Her  father  was  Dubhthack,  a  Leinster  chief,  her  mother 
was  a  slave  in  that  chief's  home,  and  Dubhthack's  wife,  jealous 
and  angry  that  a  slave  should  alienate  from  herself  her  husband's 
affection,  insisted  that  the  slave  should  be  sold,  and  threatened 
that  if  such  were  not  done  she  would  leave  her  husband  and  insist 
upon  taking  her  dowry  with  her.  Bridget's  mother  was  sold 
to  a  Druid,  and  it  was  in  his  house  at  Faughhart,  near  Dundalk, 
that  Bridget  was  born,  about  450.  But  when  her  mother  was 
sold  to  the  Druid  it  was  stipulated  that  her  offspring  should  be 
free,  so  that  while  Bridget  was  born  m  slavery,  and  the  daughter 
of  a  slave,  she  was  not  a  slave  herself,  and  was  allowed  to  return 
to  her  father's  house  where  she  was  baptised.  |  Her  beauty 
was  remarkable,  and  her  worldly  prospects  bright,  but    society 

*  Healyi  p.-  215-16.- 

■f  Douglas  Hyde — Literary  History  of  Ireland,  pp.    156-157J 


PROGRESS   OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  49 

had  no  attractions  for  her,  she  loved  to  fly  from  its  allurements, 
would  give  all  her  father's  property  to  the  poor  if  allowed,*  and 
long  before  her  twentieth  year  she  vowed  to  live  and  die  a  virgin. 
If  all  that  appears  in  Lanigan's  pages  t  be  true,  she  founded 
several  convents  before  settling  in  Kildare,  and  travelled  much 
through  Munster  and  Connaught.  Finally,  about  487,  under 
the  shadow  of  a  great  oak  tree,  she  founded  a  convent  in  her 
father's  territory  at  Kildare.  Her  charity,  her  humility,  her 
hospitality  to  strangers  brought  visitors  from  all  parts,  and  in 
a  short  time  no  church  in  Ireland  was  better  known  than  Kildare, 
or  the  Church  of  the  Oak.  Besides  her  convent  of  nuns,  she 
erected  a  monastery  which  soon  became  filled  with  monks,  and 
a  bishop — St.  Conieth  was  the  first — was  appointed  its  head. 
He  was  appointed  at  the  request  of  St.  Bridget,  but  he  received 
no  jurisdiction  from  her,  but  from  the  Church  ;  and  the  story 
that  St.  Bridget  herself  had  spiritual  jurisdiction  over  the 
monastery  and  its  abbot,  and  that  she  received  Holy  Orders  from 
Bishop  Mel,  I  or  from  any  other  bishop,  does  not  deserve  to  be 
treated  seriously.  She  died  in  523,  more  regretted  than  any 
saint  since  St.  Patrick.  Then,  as  now,  the  whole  Irish  race  held 
her  in  the  highest  honor,  and  among  Irishwomen  she  has  always 
held  the  first  place  in  their  veneration  and  love.  From  Kildare 
she  founded  many  convents.  Her  example  was  widely  followed. 
St.  Ita,  St.  Fanchea  and  others  also  founded  convents,  and  before 
the  sixth  century  closed,  there  were  few  districts  in  Ireland  that 
had  not  their  community  of  nuns. 

As  St.  Bridget  in  her  day  was  the  first  of  Irishwomen,  so 
the  first  of  Irishmen  was  St.  Columba.  Born  at  Garten,  in 
Donegal,  in  521,  in  him  were  commingled  the  blood  of  the  Irish 
and  Scottish  Kings,  and  Dr.  Reeves  thinks  i|  with  some  reason 
that  to  his  high  descent  as  much  as  to  his  abilities  and  sanctity 
was  owing  the  enormous  influence  he  enjoyed  among  his  country- 
men. He  was  educated,  partly  under  Finian  of  Moville,  partly 
at  Clonard,  partly  at  Arran  and  partly  at  a  monastery  near 
Glasnevin.     He  embraced  the  clerical    state,  and  in  due  course 

*  So  displeased  was  her  father  at  her  extravagance  in  this  respect,  that 
he  attempted  to  sell  her  as  a  slave  to  the  King  of  North  Leinster. 

t  Chapter   10. 

t  Olden:  The  Church  of  Ireland,  p.  41.  She  received  the  religious 
veil  from  Bishop  Macaille  (Healy,  p.  129),  but  this  is  entirely  different 
from  receiving  the  Sacrament  of  Orders,  which  a  woman  is  incapable  of 
receiving. 

II  P.  8,  note  :  "  A  member  of  the  reigning  family  in  Ireland^  and  closely 
allied  to  that  of  Dalriadia  in  Scotland^  he  was  eligible  to  the  sovereignty 
of  his  own  country."  His  half-uncle  was  on  the  throne  at  his  birth  and  he 
lived  during  the  successive  reigns  of  his  cousins  Domnhall,  Fergus,  and 
Earby." 

E 


50  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  ordained  priest.  His  ambition  was  to  be  a  monk,  though 
he  did  not  desire  to  live  as  a  solitary  but  rather  in  community 
with  other  monks.  In  545,  he  founded  the  monastery  and  church 
at  Derry,  eight  years  later  that  of  Durrow  in  the  Queen's  County, 
and  between  this  later  date  and  561  he  must  have  founded  many 
other  monastic  establishments  in  all  of  which  he  exercised 
authority,  for  Reeves  gives  the  names  of  no  less  than  thirty-seven 
churches  in  Ireland,  which  were  either  founded  by  him,  or  in 
which  his  memory  was  specially  venerated.  He  was  largely,  if  not 
entirel)',  responsible  for  the  battle  of  Cuildrevne  (561),  and  for 
the  bloodshed  which  it  entailed — a  strange  thing  for  an  abbot, 
who  should  set  his  monks  an  example  of  humility  and  forbearance, 
for  a  priest,  whose  mission  was  one  of  peace,  and  who  might 
reasonably  be  expected  to  allay  rather  than  arouse  the  fierce 
passions  of  revenge  and  war.  But  if  his  nature  was  passionate  it  was 
also  generous  ;  he  deplored  the  harm  he  had  done  and  accepted  as 
just  the  hard  penance  imposed  by  St.  Molaise,*  whom  he  consulted, 
that  he  should  leave  Ireland  and  live  and  die  in  a  foreign  land. 

His  biographer,  Adamnan,f  slurs  over  the  battle  of  Cuildrevne 
as  if  Columba  was  in  no  way  concerned.  He  states  that  his 
going  to  lona  was  purely  voluntary,  though  he  makes  mention 
of  a  synod  in  562,  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  have  Columba 
excommunicated,  presumably  for  his  connection  with  the  battle. 
Lanigan's  denials  are  much  more  dogmatic  and  sweeping.  He 
regards  the  whole  story  about  Finian's  book — the  cause  of  the 
battle — as  "  unbecoming  even  the  gravity  of  common  history," 
and  grows  angry  at  the  suggestion  that  Columba  was  in  any 
way  the  cause  of  the  battle  ;  that  he  had  therefore  nothing  to 
do  penance  for,  and  was  not  sent,  but  went  voluntarily  to  lona.  I 
But  the  vehemence  of  Lanigan's  language  is  more  apparent 
than  the  soundness  of  his  arguments,  violent  assertion  cannot 
displace  constant  and  venerated  tradition  nor  weaken  weighty 
authority  ;  and  if  Columba  did  urge  his  kinsmen  to  battle,  it 
only  shows  that  he  had  the  fierce  passions  and  the  quick 
resentments  of  his  race,  that  as  a  consequence  he  did  grievous 
wrong  for  which,  amid  the  solitude  and  desolation  of  lona,  he 
afterwards  made  noble  atonement. 

*  Healy,  p.  311.  St.  Molaise  was  St.  Columba's  confessor;  he  was 
of  Innismurray  Island,  but  at  the  time  of  the  battle  was  at  Ahamlish,  only 
two  nniles  from  Cuildrevne. 

t  Reeves'  Adamnan^  p.  193.-  It  seems  he  would  have  been  excom- 
municated but  for  the  intervention  of  St.  Brendan  of  Birr  though  Adamnan 
says  he  would  be  condemned  for  insufficient  cause  ("  pro  quibusdam 
veniabilibus  et  tam  excusabilibus  causis.") 

X  Chapter  II.  Monks  of  the  West,  Book  IX.,  Chap.  I.  Montalambert 
thinks  it  likely  that  Columba's  excitable  temper  had  led  him  into  other 
crimes  besides  his  share  in  this  battle. 


PROGRESS   OF  RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  5 1 

It  was  in  563  that  Columba  left  Ireland  and  landed  at  lona, 
which  he  received,  it  is  said,  as  a  gift,  from  Connal,  King  of  the 
Dalriadian  colony  of  Caledonia.  Situated  but  a  mile  from  the 
great  island  of  Mull,  three  miles  in  length,  and  between  one  and 
two  in  breadth,  bleak,  barren,  desolate  and  lone,  bounteous 
of  rock,  sparing  of  fertility,  reluctant  to  yield  but  the  scantiest 
of  crops,  its  sides  worn  by  the  waves,  its  surface  swept  by  the 
storms — such  was  lona  in  Columba's  time,  and  such  is  lona  still. 
Dr.  Healy  who  visited  the  place  in  recent  years  has  noted  that 
in  the  whole  island  there  is  not  a  single  tree,*  but  in  Columba's 
time  there  were  some  osiers  and  these  served  for  the  monks  to 
build  their  church  and  their  cells.  Later  on  they  built  houses  of 
wood.f  but  the  timber  had  to  be  brought  from  the  neighbouring 
islands.  The  number  of  monks  was  soon  increased  by  fresh 
arrivals  from  Ireland  and  of  the  whole  monastic  establishment 
thus  formed  Columba  was  abbot — the  first  abbot  of  lona.  But 
the  limits  of  that  island  were  not  sufficient  for  his  restless 
energies.  He  crossed  over  to  Mull  and  traversed  the  whole  district 
which  in  modern  times  is  named  Argyle,  and  which  was  then 
inhabited  by  the  Irish,  or  Dalriadian  Scots.  His  kinsman; 
Conal  was  king,  the  people  were  Christians,  but  it  appears  only  in 
name,  for  they  had  few,  if  any,  churches  and  few,  if  any,  monastic 
establishments.  The  want  was  supplied  by  Columba.  Churches 
were  built,  m.onasteries  established,  filled  with  monks  from  lona, 
and  life  and  energy  were  infused  into  that  faith  which  was  almost 
dead. 

Columba  was  not  yet  satisfied.  Eastward  of  the  Dalriadian 
Colony  and  northward,  beyond  the  Grampians,  dwelt  a  people 
called  the  Picts.  Their  origin  is  uncertain.  They  may  have  been 
of  Scythian,  or  perhaps  of  Sarmatian  origin,  but  when  the  light 
of  history  is  first  thrown  upon  Caledonia  they  are  found  there. 
Fierce  and  brave,  they  differed  somewhat  from  the  Scots,  but 
they  had  the  same  desire  of  shedding  blood,  "  and  all  more  eager 
to  shroud  their  villainous  faces  in  bushy  hair  than  to  cover  with 
decent  clothing  those  parts  of  their  body  which  required  it."  J 
A  terroi'  to  the  Britons,  a  danger  to  the  Romans,  they  had 
frequently  devastated  Roman  territory  ;  and  the  valour  with 
which,  under  the  heroic  leadership  of  Galgacus,  they  defended 
their  liberty  against  the  legions  of  Agricola,  has  been  recorded 

*  P.  215.    No  tree,  little  tillage,  and  rocks  everywhere: 
t  Adamnan,  p.  177.     Montalambert,  Book  ix.j  Chap.  I.    "Great  oaks 
such  as  the  sterile  and  wind-beaten  soil  of  their  iskt  could  not  produce 
had  to  be  brought  from  the  neighbouring  shore." 

+  Six  old  English  Chronicles,  p.  307  (Gildas'  History  of  the  Britons^; 
Gildas  is  plainly  embittered  by  the  recollection  of  what  his  own  country- 
men suffered  from  these  same  Picts  and  Scots. 


52  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

with  admiration  by  Tacitus.*  They  were  pagans,  worshipping 
the  sun  and  moon,  and  holding  in  special  reverence  certain 
fountains  and  wells.  These  Picts,  Columba  now  determined  to 
convert  to  the  faith,  and  neither  the  ferocity  of  the  people  them- 
selves, nor  the  almost  inaccessible  regions  in  which  they  dwelt 
could  serve  as  an  obstacle  to  his  intrepid  zeal.  He  crossed  the 
Grampians,  sailed  in  his  light-built  skiff  through  the  Ness,  sought 
out  the  people  in  their  homes  and  entered  as  an  unwelcome  guest 
the  palace  of  their  king  beyond  Inverness.f  His  energy,  his 
earnestness,  his  enthusiasm,  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  his 
life,  his  ardent  charity,  his  sympathy  for  suffering,  his  miracles 
brought  conviction  even  to  Pictish  minds.  Brude,  the  King, 
became  a  Christian,  his  people,  not  all  at  once,  but  gradually, 
followed  his  example,  and  before  Columba  died  there  was  no 
portion  of  these  savage  regions,  from  the  Grampians  to  the 
Hebrides,  from  the  Hebrides  to  the  Orkneys,  in  which  Christians 
were  not  to  be  found. +  In  these  journeys  by  land  and  sea  Columba 
spent  much  of  his  time,  the  remainder  being  spent  at  lona  with 
his  monks. 

At  first  these  monks  were  all  Irish  but  gradually  others  came 
from  the  Dalriadan  Scots,  from  the  Britons,  from  the  Saxons.  All 
lived  together  within  an  encircling  and  protecting  rampart, 
each  having  his  own  cell.  Within  this  enclosure  also  were  the 
carpenter's  shop  and  the  smith's  forge,  the  refectory,  the  hospice, 
and — most  important  of  all — the  church  ;  whilst  outside  was 
the  mill,  as  well  as  shelter  for  horses  and  cattle.  Adamnan  speaks 
of  the  monk  as  a  soldier,  his  enemies  being  his  own  corrupt 
passions,  and  the  weapons  he  had  to  use  being  labour,  mortifi- 
cation and  prayer.  In  lona  these  weapons  were  not  allowed 
to  rust.  It  was  the  monks  who  tilled  the  fields,  gathered  the 
crops,  threshed  and  ground  the  corn,  and  baked  the  bread  ; 
and  while  some  worked  in  the  forge  or  carpenter's  shop,  others 
fished  in  the  surrounding  sea,  or,  perhaps,  shared  with  Columba 
the  toils  and  hardships  of  his  journeys.  Nor  was  study  neglected, 
and  Adamnan's  writings  show  that  in  his  time  at  least  the  Latin 
and  Greek  languages  were  cultivated  with  success.  Prayer  was 
said  in  common  at  certain  stated  times  during  the  day,  and  some- 
times in  the  night,  the  bell  sounded  and  the  monks  rose  from 
sleep,  and  passed  into  the  church  to  pray.  Celibacy  was  strictly 
observed,  silence  was  enjoined  and  practised,  humility  was  carried 

*  Agricola,  Cap.  35-37. 

t  Adamnan,  pp.  15 1-2.  One  of  his  difficulties  was  that  he  did  not 
understand  the  Pictish  language,  for  it  was  different  from  the  Irish,  and 
when  a  Pict  came  to  him  at  Skye  to  get  baptised,  their  conversation  had 
to  be  carried  on  through  an  interpreter  {Adam.  p.  62). 

I  Ibid.,  p.   295. 


PROGRESS   OF   RELIGION   AND  LEARNING.  53 

SO  far  that  the  monk  made  his  request  to  the  abbot  on  bended 
knees,  and  to  the  abbot's  commands  there  was  rendered  by  all 
a  strict  and  unquestioned  obedience.  There  were  many  rigorous 
fasts.  Every  Wednesday  and  Friday,  and  every  day  during 
Lent,  except  Sundays  and  holidays,  only  one  meal  was  taken 
in  the  evening.* 

Neither  Columba  nor  the  succeeding  abbots  were  bishops, 
"  an  unusual  arrangement,"  says  Bede,  |  but  there  was  always 
a  bishop  in  the  community,  who  had,  however,  no  jurisdiction, 
and  was  there  only  to  confer  Orders.  In  the  monastery  at 
lona  and  in  the  other  houses  of  the  Order  as  well,  both  in  Scotland 
and  Ireland,  the  abbot  of  lona  was  supreme.  But  the  rule  of 
Columba  was  mild,  and  the  relations  between  him  and  his  monks 
were  those  of  an  affectionate  father  to  his  children.  He  shared 
their  labours  in  the  fields,  fasted  with  even  greater  rigour  than 
they,  and  it  is  said  that  each  evening  while  reading  the  Scriptures 
he  remained  plunged  in  cold  water,  a  torture  which  few  would 
be  able  to  endure.  When  not  otherwise  engaged  he  transcribed 
books,  for  he  wished  that  each  of  his  churches  would  have  a 
supply  of  books.  "  There  was  not  an  hour,"  says  Adamnan, 
"  in  which  he  was  not  engaged  either  in  prayer,  or  reading,  or 
writing,  or  some  other  useful  work." 

To  his  monastery  at  lona  many  strangers  came  to  visit 
Columba,  to  seek  his  advice  and  be  consoled  by  him  in  their 
afflictions.  They  came  from  the  Caledonian  Scots,  from  the 
Picts,  from  the  Saxons,  as  well  as  from  Ireland.  All  were 
welcome  and  all  were  hospitably  entertained,  but  it  was  those 
who  came  from  Ireland  who  received  the  warmest  greeting 
of  all,  for  he  loved  Ireland  with  a  passionate  love — this  first 
of  the  exiles  of  Erin.  The  story  that  he  was  never  to  see  Ireland, 
this  being  part  of  his  penance — and  that  when  he  did  go  to  Ireland 
he  was  blindfolded  is  very  likely  without  foundation.  But, 
his  visits  to  Ireland  were  few,  once  to  attend  the  Convention  of 
Drumcat,  and  a  few  times  to  visit  the  monasteries  of  his  Order.  % 
And  to  be  away  from  Ireland  he  considered  the  hardest  part  of 

*  The  whole  life  at  lona;  with  the  various  incidents  which  made  it  up,- 
is  dealt  with  in  the  Additional  Notes  to  Adamnan  (pp.  342  et  seq.)  most 
valuable  notes,  which  have  been  gathered  together  by  Dr.  Reeves  with 
much  care  and  learning. 

t  Ecclesiastical  History j  Book  111.-,  Chap.  4.  "  That  island  (lona)  has 
for  its  ruler  an  abbot  who  is  a  priest :  to  whose  direction  all  the  provincej 
and  even  the  bishops,  contrary  to  the  usual  method,  are  subject  according 
to  the  example  of  their  first  teacher." 

+  "  When  he  went  from  his  own  monastery  at  Durrow  to  visit  Clon- 
macnoise,  the  whole  community  went  out  to  meet  him,  and  such  was  the 
veneration  in  which  he  was  held,  that  we  welcomed  him  as  if  he  was  an 
angel  of  God."     {Adamnan-,  p.  24.) 


54  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

his  lot,*  and  exile  from  Ireland  was  to  his  mind,  for  an  Irishman, 
the  hardest  penance  he  could  impose.  In  his  native  land  every- 
thing was  dear  to  him,  its  mountains  and  valleys,  its  rivers  and 
lakes,  the  song  of  its  birds,  the  gentleness  of  its  youth,  the  wisdom 
of  its  aged  ;  he  loved  to  steer  his  bark  round  its  coast,  and  to 
see  the  waves  break  upon  its  shore.f  He  thought  that  death 
in  Ireland  was  preferable  to  life  in  any  other  land  ;  and  when 
an  Irishman  was  leaving  lona  for  Ireland  he  regarded  him  almost 
wich  envy,  as  he  pathetically  said  to  him  "  you  are  returning 
to  the  country  which  you  love."  When  Columba  died  at  lona 
(597)>  without  doubt  there  passed  away  the  most  remarkable 
Irishman  that  the  sixth  century  had  seen. 

At  the  opening  of  the  seventh  century,  almost  all  traces 
of  paganism  had  disappeared  in  Ireland.  There  were,  no  doubt, 
a  few  pagans  still,  but  their  number  was  so  small,  their  influence 
so  insignificant,  that  they  may  be  altogether  disregarded;  the 
nation  was  now  fully  Christian,  and  the  Church  had  attained 
a  degree  of  strength  and  splendour  unequalled  in  any  country 
of  Western  Europe.  Scattered  over  the  land  were  many  great 
monasteries  with  a  population  equal  to  that  of  an  ordinary  sized 
town.  In  these  monasteries,  the  most  famous  of  her  children 
first  learned  and  then  taught,  and,  acquiring  for  themselves  the 
fame  of  sanctity  and  learning,  conferred  it  on  the  monastic  schools 
in  which  they  were  trained  and  in  which  they  taught.  Nor 
was  it  only  Irish  students  with  whom  the  Irish  monasteries  were 
filled.  From  the  kindred  Scots  of  Caledonia,  from  the  Saxons 
and  Britons,  and  from  Gaul  many  students  came,  attracted 
by  the  fame  of  the  Irish  Schools,  and  desirous  to  obtain  in  these 
schools  that  knowledge,  which  they  found  it  impossible  to  obtain 
at  home.  Among  the  hospitable  Irish  these  foreign  students 
were  treated  well.  "  The  Irish,"  says  Bede,  J  "  willingly  received 
them  all  and  took  care  to  supply  them  with  food,  and  also  to 
furnish  them  with  books  to  read,  and  gave  them  their  teaching 
gratis." 

We  do  not  know  so  much  of  the  purely  secular  schools  where 
laymen  taught  and  laymen  learned,  but  that  such  schools  existed, 
and  that,  especially  after  the  Convention  of  Drumcat,  when  they 
were  organised  on  a  new  and  better  basis,  they  reached  a  high 
degree  of  efficiency  is  undoubted.il  In  these  schools  were  taught 
poetry,  history,  and  law,  and  the  training  was  long  and  arduous 
before  degrees  in  these  subjects  could  be  obtained.      To  know 

*  Healy,.  p.   313. 

t  Monks  of  the  West^  Book  IX.,  Chap.   2.       Adamnan,  pp.   285-7. 
(Additional  Notes.) 

X  Ecclesiastical  History,  Book  Ill.y  Chap.   27.  * 

11   Hyde  :    Literary  History  of  Ireland,  p.  241. 


PROGRESS    OF    RELIGION    AND   LEARNING.  55 

the  laws  that  were  passed  and  the  judgments  of  famous  Brehons 
that  were  given  and  to  interpret  them  in  accordance  with 
justice,  was  the  business  of  the  Brehons  :  to  record  events — ■ 
usually  in  verse — was  the  business  of  the  historian  ;  but  on  the 
poet  a  harder  task  was  imposed.  With  all  forms  of  poetry  he 
should  be  perfectly  familiar,  and  when  asked  by  his  chief,  or  king, 
to  compose,  no  matter  what  the  theme  given,  he  should  be  always 
ready.*  Battles  fought,  wars  undertaken,  voyages  and  forays, 
the  glories  of  his  chief,  the  praise  of  heroes,  an  elegy  for  the  dead, 
or  again  some  wild  tale,  where  giants  and  fairies  jostled  each 
other  and  fact  and  fable  were  intermingled — such  were  in  turn 
his  themes. 

Hundreds — perhaps  thousands — of  these  tales  existed  when 
the  Danes  came,  but  they  perished  by  their  destroying  hands, 
and  but  a  few,  and  for  the  most  part  only  fragments,  have 
survived.  The  best  known  of  these,  which  have  withstood  alike 
the  attacks  of  time  and  the  destroying  fury  of  the  Dane,  is  the 
Tain-bo-Cuailgne,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  foray  of  Queen 
Maeve.f  That  the  Queen  of  Connaught  should  bring  her  whole 
army  into  Ulster  for  no  other  purpose  except  to  seize  a  bull, 
which  was  somewhat  better-looking  than  one  her  husband  had 
in  his  possession,  is  a  sufficiently  extravagant  and  improbable 
conception  ;  but  poetry  does  not  always  deal  with  probability, 
or  with  facts,  and  frequently  has  to  rely  upon  imagination  for  its 
materials  ;  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  the  whole  range 
of  fiction  a  character  to  match  Cuchullin.  On  his  native  Ulster 
the  curse  of  Faythleen,  the  Witch,  has  fallen,  and  its  blighting 
effect  is  peculiar  and  fatal,  for  it  has  turned  brave  men  into 
cowards  and  wise  men  into  fools.  From  a  land  stricken  with 
cowardice  and  imbecility  to  seek  for  help  in  a  great  emergency 
is  vain.  One  man  alone,  equal  to  a  host  in  arms,  remains  to 
defend  Ulster  ;  and  neither  the  Horatii,  who  kept  the  bridge 
nor  Hector  defending  his  beloved  Ilion,  nor  Achilles  gaining 
victory  for  the  Greeks,  is  a  more  commanding,  or  even  a  more 
pathetic,  figure  than  this  "  watch-hound  watching  by  Uladh's 
gate."  X  Day  after  day  at  the  Ford,  which  marks  the 
boundary  of  his  native  Ulster,  he  meets  in  single  combat 
the  best  and  most  renowned  champions  in  Maeve's 
army,  and  they  fall,  one  after  the  other,  by  the  might  of 
his  invincible  arm  ;  and  he  slays  them,  not  in  hatred  or 
in  vengeance,  not  because  he  wishes  their  death  and  rejoices 
at    the    sight   of    their   blood,  but  because  stern  necessity  has 

*  Healy,  p.  599;  O'Curry,  MSS.  Materials  of  Ancient  Irish  History^ 
p.  240. 

t  Poetical  Works  of  Aubrey  de  Vere^  Vol.  II.j  pp.  255-343. 
X  De  Vere.  p.  262. 


56  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND 

willed  it,   and  it  is  the  only  way  in  which  his  native  province 
can  be  saved.* 

What  other  works  were  written  by  laymen  cannot  be  known, 
but  Dalian  Forgal  wrote  an  elegy  on  St.  Columba.f  It  was 
Senchan,  who  had  been  Dalian's  pupil,  and  who  succeeded  him 
as  Chief  Poet  of  Ireland,  who,  though  he  did  not  write  the  Tain- 
bo-Cuailgne  himself,  at  least  discovered  it  after  it  had  been  lost,  + 
and  Cennfaeledh,  warrior,  lawyer  and  poet,  who  died  in  678, 
wrote  some  poems,  a  grammar  and  a  law  tract,  and  was  so 
accomplished  a  scholar,  that  he  was  called  the  learned. I|  It  is 
however,  the  monastic  schools  of  the  period  which  were  most 
appreciated  in  their  own  day  and  are  best  known  in  ours.  In 
efficiency  and  influence  the  first  of  the  monastic  schools  was 
that  of  Clonmacnoise.  Founded  by  St.  Kieran,  in  544,  it  was 
situated  on  the  Leinster  side  of  the  Shannon,  some  seven  miles 
from  Athlone,  and  one  circumstance  which  favorably  influenced 
its  development  was  that  it  belonged  to  no  particular  tribe.** 
Freed  from  local  jealousies  and  restrictions,  it  was  patronised 
by  various  tribes,  endowed  by  various  princes,  and  outstripping 
the  mere  local  fame  of  other  monastic  schools,  it  acquired  the 
dignity  and  strength  of  a  national  college.  The  Kings  of  Meath 
and  Connaught — Diarmuid  and  Guaire — who  in  life  were  so 
often  ranged  in  hostile  camps,  agreed  in  their  veneration  for 
Clonmacnoise  ;  both  endowed  it  with  land,  and  when  they  died, 
both,  in  accordance  with  a  long-expressed  wish,  were  interred 
in  its  consecrated  ground.  Of  its  professors  we  read  of  Colgu, 
who  wrote  both  in  Latin  and  in  Irish,  and  who  died  in  794  1 1  ; 
and  Suibne,  another  of  its  professors,  who  lived  in  the  next 
century,  is  described  by  a  Saxon  contemporary — ^Florence  of 
Worcester  +  X — as  "  the  greatest  doctor  of  the  Scots."  It  is  not 
certain,  but  it  is  not  improbable,  that  among  its  students  was 
Alcuin,  the  friend  of  Charlemagne,  whose  reputation  for  scholar- 
ship was  European — at  all  events  he  writes  of  Colgu  as  his  master 
and  father.  |1 1|    Another  student  was  Dicuil,  who  wrote  in  Latin 

*  De  Vere,  p.  305.  He  is  especially  sorry  for  the  death  of  his  old 
friend  Ferdia — 

•"  We  ate  together  of  the  self-same  dish 
We  couched  together  'neath  the  self-same  shield 
Now  living  man  I  stand  and  he  lies  dead."- 

■\  Literary  History  of  I r eland ,  p.  380. 

X  Ossianic  Society,  Vol.  v.,  p.    125. 

II  Healy,  603-604. 

**  Healy,  p.  270. 

ft  Ibid.  p.  272. 

XX  Florence's  Chronicle  at  the  year  892; 

nil  Usher's  Sylloge,  No.  xviil. 


PROGRESS    OF    RELIGION    AND    LEARNING.  57 

an  interesting  treatise  on  geography.*  Even  during  the  Danish 
wars  Clonmacnoise  flourished,  but  being  plundered  and  attacked 
so  often,  its  efficiency  was  seriously  impaired  ;  but  when  the 
Danish  power  was  broken  and  Danish  depredations  had  ceased, 
the  venerable  school  renewed  its  vigour  and  shone  out  with 
some  of  its  ancient  splendour. 

Throughout    Ulster   and    Meath   were   the   monastic   schools 
established  by  Columba  and  his  successors,  all  of  which  were  in 
subjection  to  the  Abbots  of  lona,  and  of  these  Durrow  and  Kells 
are  best  known.       In  both,  the  work  of  copying  manuscripts 
was   much  practised,  and   the  art  of  illuminating  manuscripts 
carried  to  high  perfection.       Judging  that  no  efforts  were  too 
much  in  copying  and  decorating  the  sacred  books,  these  monks, 
in  the  lonely  silence  of  their  convent  cells,  patiently,  unceasingly, 
unsparing  of  labour,  and  with  an  artist's  eye  for  colours,  copied 
and  ornamented,  and  the  Book  of  Kells  and  the  Book  of  Durrow 
are  still  in  existence  to  tell  the  tale  of  their  labour  and  their  skill. 
It  was  not  the  desire  of  Giraldus — it  did  not  seem  to  be  his  mission 
— to  say  anything  favourable  of  Ireland,  or  anything  Irish,  and 
if  he  does  praise  he  may  certainly  be    believed,  for    his  praise  is 
so  rare  and    given  with  such  evident,  even  painful,  reluctance. 
But  he  saw  the  Book  of  Kells,  and  struck  with  the  beauty  and 
finish  of  the  lettering  and  colouring,  he  concluded  it  was  the 
work  of  an  angel,  for  it  could  not  be  the  work  of  human  hands,  f 
In  these  schools,  subject  to  Columba's  successors,  no  scholar  of 
eminence  appeared  previous  to  the  advent  of  the  Danes,  if  we 
except  Adamnan,  ninth  Abbot  of  lona.      Descended   from  the 
princes  of  Tirconnell,  and  therefore  related  to  St.  Columba,  he 
was  born  at  Donegal,  in  624,  became  monk    and    priest,  and 
ultimately  Abbot  of  lona,  a  position    he  held  till  his  death,  in 
704.       His   high  descent,   his  position   as   Columba's  successor, 
his    great   learning,    his   eminent   sanctity,    gave   him    immense 
influence  with  his  countrymen  ;  nor  did  he  ever  use  this  influence 
except  for  the  advantage  of  his  country  and  his  religion.     Seeing 
the  absurdity  of  the   Irish  Church  cutting  herself  adrift  from 
the  rest  of  the  Christian  world,  even  in  matters  of  discipline,  he 
laboured  hard  to  induce  the  monks  of  his  own  Order  to  conform 
to  the  Roman  system  of  computing  Easter.     Against  discourage- 
ment and  obstinacy  he  battled  earnestly  and  long,  and  at  last, 
towards  the  close  of  his  own  earthly  career,  he  had  the  satisfacfion 
of  seeing  the  Columban  monasteries  of  Ireland  fall  into  line  with 
the  rest  of  the  Irish  Church,  in  adoping    the  Roman  Easter, 
lona  had  not,  even  at  his    death,  abandoned   its  ancient    and 

*  Healy,  p.  281. 

t  Giraldus  speaks  of  a  Book  at  Kildare,  but  Petrie  thinks  that  his  re- 
ferences are  to  the  Book  of  Kells.     {Topography,  Distinction  IL,  chap.  38.) 


58  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND, 

erroneous  system,  and  it  appeared  that  there  at  least  his  argu- 
ments and  entreaties  were  vain.  But  the  good  seed  had  been 
sown  though  it  had  not  yet  borne  fruit,  and  Adamnan  was  but 
a  few  years  in  his  grave,  when  lona  also  yielded  and  carried  out 
the  wishes  of  its  distinguished  Abbot.  At  the  last  Feis  of  Tara, 
he  was  enabled  to  have  a  law  passed,  since  known  as  Adamnan's 
Law,  prohibiting  women  from  taking  part  in  battle.  Nor  was 
it  only  among  his  own  countrymen  that  he  was  respected.  The 
exiled  king  of  Northumbria,  Aldfrid,  during  his  stay  in  Ireland, 
met  and  loved  the  learned  monk  of  lona,*  and  afterwards  when 
fortune  changed  and  when  the  exile  became  the  monarch, 
Adamnan  was  able  to  use  his  influence  with  advantage  to  his 
own  countrymen.  The  prisoners  taken  in  Ireland,  in  the  time 
of  Egfrid,  were  kept  in  Nortuhmbria  in  the  position  of  slaves, 
and  when  Aldfrid  became  king,  Adamnan  journeyed  from  lona, 
crossing  the  dangerous  currents  of  the  Solway  Firth  ;  and  appeal- 
ing to  the  new  kmg,  in  his  palace  at  Northumbria,  he  had  the 
Irish  prisoners  released  and  sent  back  to  their  country  and  kin.  f 

Of  Adamnan's  great  piety  and  learning  no  doubt  has  ever 
been  raised,  and  of  his  character  both  strangers  as  well  as  Irish- 
men have  ever  spoken  with  respect.  Passing  by  native  estimates 
of  him,  which  might  be  charged  with  partiality,  we  have  the 
testimony  of  Bede  that  "  he  was  a  virtuous  and  learned  man, 
with  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures."  %  And  of  his 
principal  work,||  "  The  Life  of  St.  Columba,"  Pinkerton,  a  learned 
Scotchman,  has  said  that  "  it  is  the  most  complete  piece  of  such 
biography  that  Europe  can  boast  of  during  the  whole  Middle 
Ages,**  a  generous  eulogy  for  a  Scotchman  to  pronounce, 
especially  in  dealing  with  anything  Irish.  Thus  far  for  the 
Columban  monasteries,  which  were  for  the  most  part  in  the 
north  of  Ireland. 

But  if  we  would  search  for  the  greatest  of  the  northern 
monastic  schools,  we  shall  not  find  it  among  those  of  the  Columban 
Order,  but  rather  in  the  School  of  Bangor,  built  on  the  shores 
of  Belfast  Lough,  and  looking  out  upon  the  ever-restless  sea. 
Founded  by  St.  Comgall  (559),  it  soon  grew  in  influence  and 
importance,  and  before  Comgal  died  three  thousand  monks 
observed  his  rule,  the  larger  porticn  of  whom  were  in  Bangor 

*  Adamnan ;  Appendix  to  Preface,  p.  44 ;  he  was  often  called  the 
Alumnus  of  Adamnan. 

t  Adamnan,  p;   186;  Introd.,  p.  45; 

X  Ecclesiastical  History^    Book  v.,  chap.   15. 

II  Adamnan  also  wrote  a  book  on  the  Holy  Places  of  Jerusalem,  a 
work  highly  praised  by  Bede,  and  from  which  he  largely  quotes.  (Chap. 
16,  17.) 

*  ^  Hcaly,  p.  343- 


PROGRESS    OF   RELIGION   AND  LEARNING.  59 

itself.*  Columbanus  and  Gall  were  educated  there  in  the  sixth 
century,  so  also,  in  the  ninth  century  was  Dungal,  who  did 
such  service  against  the  Iconaclasts,  and,  at  a  later  stage,  St. 
Malachy,  the  bishop  and  reformer  of  Armagh. 

What  Bangor  was  to  the  north,  Lismore  was  to  the  southern 
province.      It  was  founded  by  Carthage  in  the  year  635.      For 
forty  years   Carthage   had   already  laboured   at   Rahan,   in   the 
King's  County.       He  had   founded   a  monastery  there,   it  had 
grown   to   fame   under   his   rule,   its   schools   attracted   scholars 
from  afar,  and  no  less  than  eight  hundred  monks  were  gathered 
within  its  bounds.      But  jealousy  sometimes  enters  the  cloister ; 
the  monastery  of  Durrow  was  near  and  was  being  over-shadowed 
by  its  neighbour  at  Rahan  ;    its  monks  felt  that  Carthage  was 
the  cause  ;    they  were  influential  with  the  ruling  prince  of  the 
territory  and  induced  him  to  expel  Carthage  from  Rahan,  which 
that  prince  did,  with  every  circumstance  of  indignity .f     Seeking 
a  new  home,  Carthage  travelled  much,  and  at  last  the  wanderer 
found  rest  at  Lismore,  and  in  the  midst  of  scenic  beauty  of  a 
high  order,  he  built  his   monastery.       Looking  southwards  he 
had  behind  him  the  mountains  of  Knockmeldown,  around  him 
was  the  valley  of  the  Blackwater,  where  nature  had  been  prodigal 
of  her  charms,  and  at  his  feet  was  the  river  itself  rushing  ever 
onward  to  the  sea.  J     The  nev/  school  acquired  fame  so  rapidly 
that  it  soon  overshadowed  all  the  schools  of  Munster,  and  many 
were   its    famous   scholars.      Aldfrid,    the    Northumbrian    king, 
was  educated   there,  among  its   monks  was  Turlogh,   King  of 
Thomond,  who  resigned  the  crown  in  order  to  become  a  monk, 
and  among  its  best-known  students  was  Cathaldus,  bishop  of 
Tarentum.  ||      At  Cork  and  Ross,  at  Mungret  and  Inniscaltra, 
were  other  schools  in  Munster,  but  none  of  them  attained  the 
position,  or  acquired  the  fame  of  Lismore.    The  schools  of  Kildare, 
Cloonenagh,  and  Glendalough  diffused  the  blessings  of  knowledge 
and  religion  throughout  Leinster,while  Connaught  had  the  schools 
of  Clonfert,  Tuam  and  Mayo. 

With  the  life  and  labours  of  St.  Kevin,  Glendalough  has  been 
always  associated,  and  Clooneenagh  beheld  its  most  distinguished 
student  in  ^Engus  the  Culdee.*  *     Except  that  the  school  of  Tuam 

*  Lanigan's  Ecclesiastical  History^  Vol.  II.5  p.  62. 

t  Healy,  p.  450.  "  It  was  a  cruel  and  an  evil  deed — it  broke  the  old 
man's  heart  and  brought  down  his  grey  hairs  in  sorrow  to  the  grave." 
Nor  has  Dr.  Healy  any  great  doubt  that  jealousy  was  the  cause  of  the 
Saint's    expulsion. 

%  Healy,  p.  453. 

II  Ibid.,  pp.  457-469- 

*  *  He  was  a  member  of  the  Community  of  Tallaght,  where  under  the 
rule  of  St.  Maelruan,  a  stricter  monastic  discipline  was  observed  than  then 
prevailed  in  the  other  monasteries  of  the  time.     As  a  member  of  this  com- 


6o  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  founded  by  St.  Jarlath,  there  seems  to  be  no  other  distinction 
to  which  it  can  lay  claim.  Mayo  founded  by  St.  Coleman  and 
tenanted  by  those  Saxon  monks,  who  still  adhered  to  the  old 
Irish  Easter,  was  not  without  distinction,  and  was  so  much 
frequented  by  Saxons,  that  it  was  called  Mayo  of  the  Saxons. 
The  founder  of  Clonfert  was  Brendan  the  Navigator,  and  one 
of  its  abbots  was  Cummian,  who  in  the  Paschal  controversy' 
acquitted  himself  so  well. 

Our  conception  of  an  Irish  monastery  in  those  days  is  a 
number  of  buildings,  grouped  together  and  surrounded  by  ax. 
enclosure  within  which  dwelt  a  multitude  of  pious,  self-denying 
men,  living  in  community,  practising  the  same  devotions,  under- 
going the  same  hardships,  chastising  themselves  with  the  same 
mortifications,  bound  by  a  common  rule  and  subject  to  the 
same  superior,  whose  will  they  recognised  as  law.  These  monks 
differed  according  to  the  time  in  which  they  lived.  An  ancient 
Catalogue  of  the  Irish  Saints  is  quoted  by  Usher*  and  divides 
these  Saints  into  three  Orders.  The  first  Order  f  was  in  the  time 
of  St.  Patrick,  consisted  of  holy  bishops,  350  in  number,  founders 
of  churches,  worshipping  one  head,  viz.,  Christ,  following  one 
leader — Patrick — having  one  tonsure  and  one  celebration  of 
Mass,  and  one  Easter,  which  they  celebrated  after  the  Vernal 
Equinox.  "  They  did  not  reject  the  service  of  women,  because 
being  grounded  on  Christ,  the  Rock,  they  feared  not  the  wind 
of  temptation."  In  the  second  Order  there  were  few  bishops 
but  many  priests,  in  number  300  ;  they  had  different  rites  of 
celebrating  and  different  rules  of  living,  and  they  shunned  the 
society  of  women,  and  excluded  them  from  their  monasteries. 
The  third  Order,  100  in  number,  were  priests  but  few  bishops  ; 
they  lived  on  herbs  and  alms,  and  despised  all  things  earthly. 
They  had  different  rites  for  celebrating  and  a  different  tonsure, 
for  some  had  the  crown  shaven,  but  others  had  not.  The  time 
of  the  First  Order  was  to  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  ;  the 
Second  Order  to  the  end  of  the  same  century,  while  the  time 
of  the  Third  Order  extended  to  the  year  of  the  great  plague  (664). 
The  First  Order  in  sanctity  shone  out  resplendent  like  the  sun, 

munity  he  would  be  specially  entitled  to  call  himself,  Ceile-de  or  servant 
of  God.  His  personal  sanctity  would  emphasize  his  claim  to  be  so  called. 
In  his  case  the  term  culdee  may  be  supposed  as  a  term  denoting  "  rigid 
monastic  observance,  especially  in  the  order  of  divine  service,  and  to  have 
been  applied  to  him  as  one  who  had  contributed  to  the  devotional  com- 
positions of  the  church,  and  also  lived  according  to  the  strictest  sect  of 
his  religion."  (Reeves',  The  Culdees — R.  I.  Academy  Trans. 5  Vol.  XXIV. ^ 
p.-   127.) 

*  Works,  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  477-9. 

\  Most  of  the  First  Order  were  foreigners — Franks,  Romans  and 
Britons.      (Healy,  pp.   107-8.) 


PROGRESS   OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  6 1 

the  Second  shone  like  the  moon,  the  Third  Hke  the  stars.  Most 
of  these  saints  belonged  to  monasteries,  but  not  all,  for 
there  were  some  fervent  souls  who  loved  even  greater 
privations  than  those  prescribed  by  monastic  rule,  and  this, 
it  seems,  was  a  special  characteristic  of  the  later  Order  of 
Saints.  Solitude,  silence,  the  severest  penances,  the  most 
rigid  fasts,  the  greatest  mortifications — these  were  what  they 
chose  for  their  earthly  inheritance.  They  were  anchorets 
rather  than  monks. 

In  the  valley  of  Glendalough  St.  Kevin  lived  for  seven  years 
the  life  of  a  solitary  "  without  fire,  without  a  roof,  almost  without 
human  food."*  On  the  shores  of  a  lake  in  that  beautiful  valley 
he  dwelt  for  a  time  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree,  and  St.  Kevin's  bed, 
where  his  short  periods  of  sleep  were  taken,  can  still  be  seen — a 
cave  in  the  face  of  an  overhanging  cliff,  only  four  feet  square 
and  little  more  than  four  feet  high.  The  natural  beauties  of 
Glendalough  and  the  picturesque  ruins  in  which  it  abounds 
attract  many  visitors  ;  and  the  thoughtful  traveller  as  he  thinks 
of  St.  Kevin  sleeping  up  the  face  of  the  cliff,  like  the  eagle  in 
his  eyrie,  cannot  help  contrasting  the  material  ages  of  a  later 
date  with  those  far-off  ages  of  vivid  faith.  To  these  scenes  of 
silence  and  solitude  St.  Kevin  was  attached,  for  they  allowed 
him  to  hold  undisturbed  communion  with  God  ;  but  a  shepherd, 
who  came  to  look  after  his  flocks,  broke  the  silence  of  his  retreat. 
Many  others  followed  in  his  footsteps  ;  the  saint  was  no  longer 
allowed  to  remain  alone  ;  and  the  entreaties  of  his  visitors  that 
he  should  leave  his  lonely  abode  were  so  earnest  and  persistent, 
that  at  last  he  reluctantly  did  so,  and,  further  down  the  valley, 
he  built  a  monastery,  which  soon  grew  to  eminence  as  the 
monastery  and  school  of  Glendalough,  and  in  which  many  a 
scholar  and  holy  man  were  trained.  For  eighteen  months  before 
his  death,  St.  Carthage  of  Lismore  retired  from  his  monks  and 
lived  alone  in  a  cave  f  ;  and  ^Engus  the  Culdee  lived  for  a  time 
in  a  solitude  near  the  present  town  of  Maryborough,  and  every 
day  recited  fifty  psalms  in  his  cell,  fifty  in  the  open  air,  and  fifty 
with  his  body  plunged  in  cold  water.  |  Many  other  holy  men 
there  were,  whose  austerities  were  as  great,  but  whose  names 
are  less  known. 

But  Irish  monks  and  anchorets,  Irish  saints  and  scholars 
were  not,  during  the  period,  confined  to  Ireland.  The  work  com- 
menced by  Columba  was  continued  by  his  successors ;  the 
monastery  of  lona  was  incessantly  recruited  from  Ireland  ;  and 
of  its  twelve  first  abbots  all  but  one  were  Irish  and  of  the  race 

*  Healy,  pp.  418  et  seq. 
t  Healy,  p.  454. 
X  Ibid.,  p.  407. 


62  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

of  Tirconnell.*  Among  the  kindred  Scots  of  Argyle,  monasteries 
arose  which  were  filled  with  Irish  monks  and  which  became 
centres  of  missionary  activity  themselves.  These  monks  of  lona 
extended  their  labours  among  the  southern  Picts  on  the  East 
coast,  and  in  these  regions,  where  Ninian  first  taught  and  laboured, 
the  flickering  embers  of  the  Christian  faith  were  kindled  into 
flame  by  Irish  zeal,  f  The  Picts  beyond  the  Grampians  heard 
the  tidings  of  Christianity  from  the  same  Irish  monks  and  were 
persuaded  by  Irish  lips  to  forsake  for  ever  their  heathen  gods. 
Nor  were  these  zealous  preachers  dismayed  by  the  stormy  and 
treacherous  seas  that  rage  round  the  Western  and  Northern 
shores  of  Caledonia.  The  numerous  islands  on  these  coasts  were 
visited,  churches  built,  and  the  people  won  over  from  their  pagan 
errors  ;  nor  did  these  adventurous  soldiers  of  the  Cross  desist 
until  they  had  passed  the  Ultima  Thule  of  the  ancients,  and 
from  the  testimony  of  Dicuil  the  geographer,  they  penetrated 
to  Iceland,  where  the  Northmen,  on  their  arrival  there  in  the 
ninth  century,  found  Irish  crosses,  Irish  croziers  and  Irish  bells,  j 
With  equal  energy  and  success  they  laboured  among  the 
Anglo-Saxons.  Just  south  of  the  Southern  Picts  was  North- 
umbria,  extending  from  the  Firth  of  Forth  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Humber.  Its  British  and  Christian  inhabitants  had  been  driven 
into  the  mountains  of  Wales,  or  reduced  to  slavery  in  their  own 
land  by  the  new  pagan  masters  of  Northumbria.  Feeling  bitterly 
the  humiliation  of  defeat  and  the  harsh  treatment  they  received, 
they  entertained  the  strongest  antipathy  to  the  Anglo-Saxons  ; 
and  while  they  enjoyed  the  consolations  of  Christianity  them- 
selves, they  refused  with  sullen  selfishness  to  share  its  blessings 
with  their  conquerors.  ||  The  patience  and  zeal  of  Paulinus 
had  won  over  the  Northumbrian  king,  Edwin,  and  many  of 
his  people  to  Christianity,  but  the  triumph  of  the  Gospel  was 
short-lived.  Hatred  often  brings  men  together  when  love  has 
failed,  and  in  their  hatred  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  the  Britons 
willingly  enrolled  themselves  under  the  banner  of  Penda,  the 
pagan  king  of  Mercia,  who  had  long  coveted  the  Northumbrian 
province.  The  allied  forces  marched  into  Edwin's  kingdom 
and   at    Hatfield   (6;^  2)   he    was    disastrously    overthrown,   and 

*  Adamnaji,  p.  342.  The  genealogical  table  given  by  Reeves,  though 
it  does  not  as  the  author  points  out,  show^s  that  the  abbacy  of  lona  was 
transmitted  in  lineal  succession,  "  it  demonstrates  the  existence  of  clan- 
ship, even  in  a  religious  community." 

t  It  has  been  observed  that  St.  Patrick  in  his  Epistle  to  Caroticus 
speaks  with  special  severity  of  the  Picts,  who,  at  least  the  Southern  Picts, 
had  been  converted  to  Christianity,  but  soon  after  relapsed  into  paganism 
(Morris'  Si.  Patrick,  228). 

X  Healy,  p.  2S9. 

II  Monks  of  the  West,  Book  Vlll.,  Chap.  2.     Bede,  Book  11.,  Chao   22. 


PROGRESS    OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING,  63 

once  more  Northumbria  relapsed  into  paganism.  A  few  years 
later,  when  Oswald  became  king  of  Northumbria,  these  disasters 
were  reversed  ;  he  shook  off  the  yoke  of  the  Mercians  and  Britons 
and  Northumbria  was  again  free.  In  exile  among  the  Scots  he 
had  learned  to  become  a  Christian,  and  when  he  became  inde- 
pendent king  of  Northumbria,  he  invited  the  monks  of  lona  to 
re-establish  Christianity  in  his  kingdom.  Aidan*  and  some  monks 
came  and  founded  a  monastery  at  Lindisfarne,  of  which  Aidan 
became  Abbot,  as  well  as  being  bishop.  More  fortunate  than 
Paulinus,  the  work  of  these  Irish  missionaries  was  destined  to 
endure.  Lindisfarne  became  another  lona,  whence  other  monas- 
teries, such  as  Whitby  and  Melrose,  were  founded,  and  whence 
zealous  missionaries  went  forth  to  preach  the  Gospel.  The  sur- 
rounding people  were  hard  to  convert  and  clung  with  stubborn- 
ness to  their  pagan  errors,  but  the  piet)',  the  patience,  the 
missionary  activity,  the  self-sacrifice  of  these  Irish  monks 
conquered  all.  Within  twenty  years,  after  Aidan's  coming  to 
Lindisfarne,  Northumbria  was  entierly  Christian.  Essex  and 
Mercia  were  also  converted  exclusively  by  Irish  monks,  who, 
besides,  shared  with  the  Roman  monks  the  labour  and  glory 
of  converting  Wessex  and  East  Anglia.  "  They  rivalled  "  says 
Montalambert,  "  the  zeal  of  the  Rom.an  monks,  but  showed 
much  more  perseverance  and  gained  much  more  success."  f 

In  continental  Europe  Irish  missionaries  also  laboured  and 
with  conspicuous  success.  Towards  the  close  of  the  sixth  century, 
there  left  Ireland  and  passed  over  to  France  an  Irish  monk  whose 
fame  was  to  rival  that  of  Columba.  Like  him  he  was  to  be  the 
founder  of  many  monasteries  and  the  spiritual  father  of  many 
children.  This  was  St.  Columbanus.  Born  in  Leinster  (559) 
and  educated  at  Bangor,  he  became  monk  and  priest  and, 
selecting  foreign  lands  as  the  scene  of  his  labours,  he  left  Ireland 
with  twelve  companions  (590),  crossed  over  to  England  and 
arrived  in  France  the  same  year.  He  and  his  companions  made 
their  way  to  the  kingdom  of  Burgundy,  where  they  were  well 
received  by  Gontran,  its  king.  Here,  first  at  Annegray  and 
afterwards  at  Luxueil,  Columbanus  established  monasteries,  by 
far  the  most  famous  of  which  was  Luxueil.  Situated  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Vosges  mountains,  the  place  was  of  some  impor- 
tance in  Roman  times,  and  some  remains  were  left  of  Roman 
temples  and  villas. J     The  tide  of  barbarian  conquest  had  so  often 

*  Of  Aidan  and  his  companions  Bede  speaks  with  enthusiasm  (Book 
III.,  Chap.  5)  "  it  was  the  highest  commendation  of  his  doctrine  with  all 
men,  that  he  taught  no  otherwise  than  he  and  his  followers  had  lived — 
he  delighted  in  distributing  immediately  among  the  poor  whatever  was 
given  him  by  kings  and  rich  men." 

■\  Monks  of  the  IVcsi,  Book  XI.,  Chaps.  I  and  2. 

t  Idid.,  Book  Vll. 


64  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

rolled  over  the  district  that,  except  these  ruined  buildings,  ever}'- 
trace  of  ancient  culture  had  disappeared.  The  fields  were 
uncultivated,  agriculture  was  neglected,  the  forests  had  extended 
their  sway,  and  the  rule  of  the  wild  beast  had  supplanted  that  of 
man.  Nor  was  the  physical  aspect  of  the  country  an  inapt 
representation  of  its  moral  and  religious  condition.  The  fervour 
of  those  warlike  converts,  who  fought  with  Clovis  at  Tolbiac, 
had  not  been  transmitted  to  their  descendants  ;  many  of  the 
people  had  relapsed  into  paganism,  the  secular  clergy  were 
remarkable  for  everything  but  zeal,  the  bishops  did  not  hold 
synods,*  the  nobles  were  little  better  than  hunters  and  robbers, 
and  a  descendant  of  Clovis  and  the  pious  Clotilde,  shrinking 
from  the  obligations  and  restraints  of  matrimony,  lived,  like 
an  eastern  monarch,  with  his  concubines.  In  contrast  with 
this  irreligion  and  immorality  the  most  heroic  virtue  soon  appeared. 
Columbanus  and  his  companions  lived  with  the  wild  beasts, 
and  with  as  little  luxury.  The  grass  of  the  fields,  the  wild  fruit, 
the  bark  of  the  trees  were  partly  their  support  ;t  the  charity  of 
their  neighbours  supplied  the  rest.  This  was  before  Luxueii 
was  built ;  but  even  in  Luxueii  the  mortification  was  great, 
for  the  rule  of  Columbanus  was  severe.  Prayer  and  labour  were 
incessant,  but  one  meal  was  allowed  in  the  day,  and  for  what 
in  later  times  would  be  considered  a  trivial  fault  the  most  rigorous 
penances  were  imposed.  Yet  these  rigors  attracted,  instead  oi 
repelling,  the  surrounding  natives.  The  serfs  found  refuge  at 
Luxueii  and  were  received  among  its  monks,  and  the  long-haired 
nobles  of  the  Franks  and  Burgundians  left  their  castles  and 
their  lands  and,  as  monks,  were  rarely  the  superiors,  frequently' 
the  equals  and  sometimes  the  inferiors  and  subjects  of  their 
former  slaves.  Luxueii  soon  became  the  most  populous  monastery 
in  Gaul,  and  the  heart  of  Columbanus  must  have  been  glad. 

But  the  Saint  was  not  without  his  sorrows.  With  perverse 
obstinacy  he  still  clung  to  the  Irish  method  of  computing  Easter  ; 
the  Gaulish  bishops  remonstrated.  Columbanus  advised  them, 
with  some  asperity,  to  hold  synods  more  frequently,  and  thus 
the  relations  between  the  bishops  and  the  monk  were  never 
cordial  and  often  strained.  J  But  with  the  young  king,  Thierry, 
who  now  sat  upon  the  throne  of  Gontran,  and  his  grandmother 
Brunehault,   his   difficulties   were   greater   still.       Thierry   had 

*  Gibbon,  Vol.  II.,  pp.   562-3; 

t  Healy,  p.  373.  Columbanus  loved  to  retire  into  the  forest  away  from 
his  monks,  and  there  he  became  familiar  and  friendly  with  the  wild  animals. 
"  The  birds  would  pick  the  crumbs  from  his  feet ;  the  squirrels  hide  them- 
selves under  his  cowl  ;  the  hungry  wolves  harmed  him  not,  he  slept  in 
a  cave  where  a  bear  had  its  den."    (Healy.) 

X  Healy,  pp.   374-5- 


PROGRESS   OF    RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  6$ 

Christian  instincts,  and  if  he  could  have  escaped  from  the 
corrupting  influence  of  his  grandmother,  he  would  have  lived 
as  became  a  Christian  king.  But  his  will  was  weak  and  that 
of  Brunehault  was  strong.  Greedy  of  absolute  power,  blind  to 
religious  obligations,  deaf  to  the  voice  of  nature  itself,  she 
encouraged  Thierry  to  keep  concubines  instead  of  sharing  his 
throne  with  a  lawful  queen.  The  struggle  between  this  wicked 
old  woman  and  Columbanus  was  bitter  and  prolonged.  Fearless 
of  danger,  negligent  of  consequences,  with  the  zeal  of  an  apostle 
and  the  courage  of  a  martyr,  he  attacked  both  Brunehault  and 
Thierry,  menaced  them  with  the  vengeance  of  heaven ;  and  of 
morality  and  the  sanctity  of  marriage  was  ever  the  most  intrepid 
champion.  For  a  time  force  triumphed.  Columbanus  was 
expelled  from  Luxueil,  and  sent  as  far  as  Nantes  on  his  way  to 
Ireland.  Thierry  had  made  all  necessary  preparations  for  sending 
him  away,  and  at  Nantes  a  vessel  was  waiting  to  convey  him 
back  to  Ireland,  much  against  his  will.  But  the  forces  of  nature 
themselves  seemed  to  be  enlisted  on  his  side.  As  if  in  anger  with 
his  persecutors,  the  sea  was  violently  agitated,  the  winds  blew 
their  strongest,  the  waves  threatened  to  engulf  the  vessel  and 
more  than  once  the  vessel  was  flung  back  upon  the  strand.  The 
master  of  the  vessel,  terrified  and  conquered  in  this  contest  with 
nature,  at  last  dropped  his  troublesome  passenger  and  Colum- 
banus was  allowed  to  go  free.  He  turned  his  steps  into  Neustria, 
thence  to  Austrasia,  and  finally  settled  at  Bregenz,  on  Lake 
Constance,  where,  with  his  friend  St.  Gall,  he  laboured  for  two 
years.  In  612,  Thierry  defeated  Theodobert,  became  master 
of  Helvetia,  and  Columbanus  had  to  fly  from  his  ancient  enemy. 
Crossing  the  Alps,  he  entered  Lombardy  where  he  was  well 
received  and  where  he  established  a  monastery  at  Bobbio,  which 
he  made  "  the  citadel  of  orthodoxy  against  the  Arians,  and 
lighted  there  a  focus  of  knowledge  and  instruction,  which  was 
long  the  light  of  Northern  Italy."  Before  his  death,  in  615, 
Columbanus  could  count  many  monasteries  which  observed  his 
monastic  rule,*  but  before  the  seventh  century  closed,  they  had 
become  more  numerous  and  were  filled  with  more  monks  than 
he  could  ever  in  life  have  contemplated  even  in  his  wildest  dreams. 

*  Columbanus's  Penitential,  which  was  compiled  for  the  use  of  his 
monks,  is  founded  largely  on  the  Penitential  of  St.  Finian^  and  adopts 
23  of  its  Canons  :  Columbanus  adding  to  these  19  more  Canons.  The 
37th  Canon  enacts  that  if  a  layman  held  any  communication  with  heretics^ 
even  unknowingly,  he  should  for  90  days  take  his  place  in  church  separated 
from  other  Christians  and  among  the  Catechumens  ;  but  if  he  had  acted 
knowingly,  and  therefore  through  contempt,  he  should  do  penance  for 
more  than  a  year,  and  for  two  more  years  he  should  abstain  from  wine 
and  meat.     (Moran,  Essays  on  the  Early  Irish  Churchy  p    270.) 

F 


66  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Lure  and  Roman-Moutier,  Beze  and  St.  Ursanne  and  Remiremont 
in  Burgundy  ;  Fontenelle  and  Joumieges  on  the  Seine  ;  Jouarre 
and  Rebais  on  the  Marne  ;  Leuconnais  near  Amiens  ;  St.  Centule 
on  the  Somme  ;  St.  Bertin  among  the  Morini — these  were  only 
some  of  the  monasteries  founded  by  the  zealous  children  of 
Luxueil  in  France  and  Belgium,  whilst  in  Switzerland,  St.  Gall 
succeeded  so  well,  that  his  memory  is  still  revered  as  the  greatest 
of  her  Christian  missionaries,  and  a  town  and  Canton  of  Switzer- 
land still  bear  the  name  of  St.  Gall.* 

Not  less  zealous  than  the  disciples  of  Columbanus  were  other 
Irishmen  who  laboured  in  continental  lands.  An  Irishman,  f 
Fridolin,  founded  a  monastery  at  Sackingen  on  the  Rhine,  as 
early  as  511,  and  preached  to  the  nations  on  both  banks  of  the 
river  ;  St.  Fiacre  J  preached  the  Gospel  and  cultivated  the  fields 
near  Meaux.  St.  Fursey,  laborious  preacher  and  famous 
visionary,  ruled  as  abbot  an  the  banks  of  the  Marne  (633).  || 
St.  Kilian  suffered  martyrdom  for  the  faith  at  Wurzburgh  (689)  ; 
a  little  earlier  (656)  St.  Livinius  suffered  martyrdom  among  the 
people  of  Brabant  ;  whilst  the  apostle  of  the  Frisians  was 
Wilibrod,  an  Anglo-Saxon,  but  educated  in  Ireland.  It  was 
an  Irishman,  St.  Virgilius,**  who  finished  the  work  begun  by 
St.  Boniface — the  conversion  of  the  Bavarians — and  who  died 
Archbishop  of  Salzburgh  ;  and  away  by  the  waters  of  the  Gulf 
of  Taranto  was  an  Irishman  educated  under  Carthage  of  Lismore 
— Cathaldus,  bishop  of  Tarentum.     Thus  may  be  traced  the  foot- 

*  Monks  of  the  West,  Book  VII. 

Miss  Stokes  gives  the  names  of  63  of  the  first  teachers  who  during  the 
7th  Century  spread  the  Columban  rule  from  Luxueil.  Except  the  name 
of  St.  Gall  they  are  for  the  most  part  unfamiliar  ;  but  they  are  Latinized, 
and  in  consequence  the  Irish  forms  of  the  names  are  not  discernable. 
("Three  Months  in  the  Forests  of  France,"  pp.  254-5.     Appendix  VI.) 

t  Alzog's  Church  History,  Vol.  II.,  p.  74. 

X  Monks  of  the  West,   Book  VII. 

II  His  monastery  was  at  Lagny,  six  miles  to  the  north  of  Paris.  Miss 
Stokes  has  sought  with  great  patience  the  existing  monuments  associated 
with  his  life  and  works.  She  personally  visited  the  Island  of  Innisquin 
in  Lough  Corrib,  where  he  was  born,  sketched  the  ruins  of  the  church 
of  Killursa,  near  Headford,  in  the  County  of  Galway,  which  he  founded, 
traced  his  steps  into  Suffolk,  in  England,  where  he  preached,  and  in  France 
travelled  from  Lagny  to  Mezerolles,  near  the  latter  of  which  town  the 
"  Chapelle  de  St.  Fursey"  stands.  ("Three  Months  in  the  Forests  of  France," 
pp.  134-177.)  The  account  of  his  visions,  which  she  gives  in  detail,  is  given 
in  smaller  compass  by  Bede,  who  declares  that  "  a  brother  of  our  monastery 
is  still  living,  who  is  wont  to  declare  that  a  very  sincere  and  religious  man 
told  him,  that  he  had  seen  Fursey  himself  in  the  province  of  East-Anglia, 
and  heard  these  visions  from  his  mouth."  (Eccles'  History,  Book  III., 
Chap.   19.) 

*  *  Healy,  p.   573. 


PROGRESS    OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  67 

prints  of  Irish  missionaries  throughout  Europe — at  Taranto  in 
the  south,  at  Bobbio  in  the  North  of  Italy,  among  the  Alemanni 
of  Switzerland,  in  the  monasteries  of  the  Franks,  among  the 
Morini  by  the  North  Sea,  in  Bavaria  and  Carinthia  ;  everywhere 
they  are  found,  facing  every  danger,  enduring  every  hardship, 
caring  for  nothing  but  to  extend  the  empire  of  the  Cross. 

Ledwich  and  others  have  dwelt  on  the  diversity  of  liturgy 
in  the  early  Irish  Church,  have  magnified  the  disputes  about 
the  tonsure  and  Easter,  as  if  they  were  doctrinal  errors,  and  have 
pointed  out  that  such  a  church  was  not,  and  could  not  be  in 
union  with  the  Church  of  Rome.  But  diversity  of  liturgy  is 
not  the  same  as  diversity  of  doctrine,  whether  the  coronal  tonsure, 
or  that  of  Simon  Magus,*  was  worn  by  Irish  monks  was  not, 
after  all,  of  vital  importance,  and  the  dispute  about  Easter, 
however  regrettable  it  might  be,  was  only  a  matter  of  discipline 
in  the  Church  and  in  no  way  interfered  with  the  purity  and 
integrity  of  its  beliefs.  In  the  nature  and  number  of  its  Sacra- 
ments, in  its  acceptance  of  revelation  and  its  faith  in  revealed 
truths,  in  its  conception  of  the  Incarnation,  of  the  Real  Presence, 
and  of  Transubstantiation,  in  devotion  to  the  Mother  of  Christ, 
as  the  Mother  of  God,f  in  obedience  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome  as 
Supreme  Pastor  and  Teacher  of  the  Universal  Church,^  it  was 
as  orthodox  as  any  church  could  be.  Nor  was  the  boast  of  St. 
Columbanus  an  empty  one  when,  in  his  letter  to  Pope  Boniface, 
he  asserted  that  no  heresy  and  no  schism  had  ever  crept  into 
the  Irish  Church.  This  bold  statement  has  been  as  boldly 
challenged,  and  it  is  pointed  out  that  Celestius,  who  in  the  fifth 
century  was  the  principal  supporter  of  Pelagius  in  his  errors, 
was  an  Irishman.  The  heretic's  creed  is  usually  indefinite  and 
that  of  Celestius  was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  He  equivocated, 
he  shifted  his  ground,  he  lied  to  the  reigning  Pope,  and  through 
the  clouds  of  equivocation  and  mendacity  the  precise  doctrines 
he  taught  are  not  easily  seen.  But  some  points,  at  least,  are  clear. 
The  Church  has  always  held,  with  emphasis,  that  in  Adam  all 
men  have  sinned,  that  as  a  result  of  his  sin  every  man  is  born 

*  In  the  Irish  tonsure  the  hair  was  cut  off  in  front  from  ear  to  ear, 
the  hair  on  the  crown  being  untouched.  It  was  called  St.  John's  tonsurcy 
and  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  that  of  Simon  Magus.  But  why  it  got  this  name 
is  not  clear.     {Catholic  Diciionary.) 

f  Moran's  Essays,  pp.  224  ei  seq.,  especially  the  Litany  taken  from 
the  Leabhar  Breac. 

X  The  Letter  of  St.  Columbanus  ought  to  suf^ce  on  this  point,  where 
he  styles  the  reigning  Pope — "  Head  of  all  the  churches  of  Europe  ;  Pastor 
of  pastors  ;  mystic  pilot  of  the  ship  spiritual,  that  is  the  Church."  (Moran,; 
p.  97.)  In  the  same  letter  he  warned  him  to  preserve  the  Apostolic  faith, 
which  would  certainly  seem  to  imply  that  he  had,  as  Pope,  a  Commission 
to  do  so  (p.  99). 


68  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

with  inherited  culpability,  which  renders  him  unfit  for  associa- 
tion with  God,  that  the  vision  of  the  human  intellect  has  been 
darkened  and  blurred,  that  the  will  has  become  enfeebled  for 
good  and  the  whole  nature  tainted  and  corrupted,  that  the 
forces  of  sensuality  have  become  potent  for  evil  and  that  it  is 
only  by  the  grace  of  God,  liberally  given,  rightly  used,  operating 
interiorly  and  mysteriously,  that  the  human  soul  can  secure 
its  eternal  destiny.  In  opposition  to  this,  Celestius  held*  that 
Adam's  sin  affected  only  himself,  that  all  men  are  hornlike  himself 
without  sin  and  that  by  their  merely  natural  gifts,  unaided  by 
interior  grace,  they  can  acquire  sanctity  and  salvation.  These 
errors  have  been  called  Pelagianism,  because  it  was  Pelagius, 
a  British  monk,  who  was  first  identified  with  them.  Perhaps 
Celestius  was  also  British  :  it  is  at  least  doubtful  if  he  was  Irish 
and  he  who  seeks  only  after  historic  truth  and  is  not  concerned 
to  defend  or  defame  the  Irish  Church,  will  think  it  improbable 
that  a  church  which  could  scarcely  be  said  to  have  an  existence 
before  St.  Patrick's  time,  was  already  the  training-ground  of  a 
formidable  heresiarch,  and  he  will  note  that  neither  in  St. 
Patrick's  time  nor  subsequently  has  it  been  proved  that  Pela- 
gianism established  itself  in  Ireland.  Nor  did  the  Arian  heresy 
nor  any  of  its  numerous  offshoots  ever  strike  root  in  Irish  soil  ; 
and  the  angry  controversies  on  the  natures  and  wills  of  Christy 
which  furnished  such  abundant  materials  for  subtle  disputants  and 
which  so  long  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  whole  Church,  gave  no 
occupation  to  Irish  scholars.  Traversing  the  well-worn  paths 
of  orthodoxy,  they  carefully  shunned  the  seductive  byeways  of 
error,  viewed  these  polemical  contests  from  afar  with  languid 
interest  and,  leaving  to  heretical  ingenuity  the  work  of  doctrinal 
innovation,  they  were  content  with  the  humbler  and  more 
useful  role  of  being  saints  and  scholars  in  their  own  land,  or 
being  missionaries  and  martyrs  abroad. 

If  the  Church  of  Columbanus  and  Carthage  be  compared 
with  the  modern  Irish  Church  which  claims  to  be  its  successor^ 
they  will  be  found  to  be  in  complete  accord.  The  Baptism  of 
the  former  church,  like  that  of  the  latter,  was  with  water, 
was  considered  essential  to  salvation  and  could  be  received 
but  once,  f  Confirmation,  as  a  Sacrament,  is  referred  to  by 
St.  Patrick  in  his  Epistle  to  Caroticus,  and  by  St.  Cummian 
in  his  Penitential  .J  The  ancient  Irish  held  that  the  Eucharist 
was  a  great  Sacrifice  in  which  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  were 
offered  up  in  the  Mass  in  atonement  for  the  sins  of  men,  and  a 

*  Alzog,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  401-3.      Healy,  p.  40. 

t  Salmon  :    T/ie  Ancient  Irish  Church,  pp.  59-66.     Extracts  from  the 
Penitentials  of  St.  Finnian  and  St.  Cummian. 
X  Ibid.i  p.  70, 


PROGRESS    OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  69 

Sacrament*  in  which  the  same  body  and  blood  were  found  as 
long  as  the  consecrated  particles  remained.  Their  Sacrament 
of  Penance  differed  from  the  modern  in  no  respect,  except  that 
the  penances  imposed  were  more  severe,  f  The  accounts  given 
of  the  last  illness  of  St.  Eugene  of  Ardstraw  J  and  of  St.  Coleman 
show  that  the  Sacrament  of  Extreme  Unction  was  conferred  ; 
and  between  their  Sacraments  of  Holy  Orders||  and  Matrimony** 
and  those  of  a  later  date  no  difference  can  be  discerned.  They 
believed  in  Purgatory  f  t  and  in  the  efficacy  of  the  Invocation 
of  Saints  ;  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  was  a  marked 
feature  of  the  Early  Irish  Church  ;  and  its  acceptance  of  the 
Pope's  Supremacy  was  unquestioned  and  unequivocal. 

The  only  serious  dispute  with  Rome  was  as  to  the  manner 
of  computing  Easter.  |  J  The  Paschal  computation  of  the  Irish 
was  that  introduced  by  St.  Patrick  which  then  and  long 
after  was  the  same  as  that  of  Rome.  In  making  this  compu- 
tation they  had  the  Jewish  Cycle  of  84  years,  never  celebrated 
the  Pasch  before  the  Vernal  Equinox,  and,  unlike  the  Jews  and 
some  of  the  churches  of  the  East,  never,  except  on  Sunday. 
It  is  therefore  with  great  injustice  that  they  have  sometimes 
been  branded  with  the  opprobrious  name  of  Quartadecimans.  ||  || 
But  the  Jewish  Cycle  was  incorrect,  and  at  Alexandria,  where 
astronomy  was  studied  and  understood,  its  errors  were  detected 
and  exposed,  and  a  more  correct  cycle  of  19  years  substituted. 
The  Romans  adopted  the  Alexandrian  Cycle  but  seem  not  to 
have  understood  the  Alexandrian  method  of  computation  ; 
errors  arose,  nor  was  it  until  525,  that  uniformity  was  established 
between  Alexandria  and  Rome.  These  changes  were  not  known 
in  Ireland  for  some  time  and  when  they  were  they  were  regarded 
by  the  Irish  with  suspicion.  Devotedly  attached  to  the  memory 
of  their  Saints,  they  regarded  as  an  innovation  whatever  clashed 
with  their  Saints'  practices  and  teaching,  nor  could  they  willingly 
believe  that  the  Paschal  system  was  wrong,  which  was  intro- 
duced by  St.  Patrick  and  sanctified  by  the  approval  of  St.  Columba. 

*  Moran's  Essays,  pp.  241-2  ;    also  p.   166. 

t  Reeves  on  the  Culdees.  R.  I.  Academy  Translations,  Vol.  XXIV.,  Pt.  2 
pp.  208-9.  For  abusing  a  servant  the  punishment  was  100  blows  on  the 
hand.       Moran,  pp.   250  ei  seq. 

X  Salmon,  p.   no. 

tl  Ibid,  p.    114. 

*  *  Ibid,  p.    142. 

t  t  Ibid.,  p.  148.  Usher  (Vol.  IV.,  pp.  269-71)  admits  that  prayers  were 
said  for  the  dead,  but  only  for  those  ivho  were  in  bliss,  yet  it  might  be 
asked  why  pray  for  those  who  had  already  attained  happiness  ? 

X  X  Alzog,  Vol.  II.,  p.  65  ;    Laniganj  Vol.  II. ^  p.  374. 

II  II  The  Quartadecimans  were  those  who  celebrated  Easter  on  the  14th 
day  of  the  Moon,  whether  it  fell  on  Sunday  or  not. 


70  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Solemnly  admonished  by  Pope  Honorius  I.  that  they  were  wrong,* 
a  Synod  was  held  at  Old  Leighlin  (630)  to  discuss  the  question, 
but  no  agreement  was  arrived  at.  The  Canon  passed  at  the 
instance  of  St.  Patrick  that  all  matters  which  could  not  be  settled 
in  Ireland  be  sent  to  Rome  for  decision  was  then  remembered, 
and  delegates  were  appointed  to  proceed  to  PvOme.  Those  delegates 
on  their  return  reported  that  they  had  seen  Easter  celebrated 
at  Rome  by  men  from  all  the  churches  of  the  world,  and  that 
all  these  churches  agreed  with  Rome.  A  Synod  was  then  held 
at  Moylena  (633)  and  the  Irish  system  was  abandoned  for  the 
Roman  and  thus,  as  far  as  the  south  of  Ireland  was  concerned, 
the  question  was  settled.  The  monasteries  of  the  north  of  Ireland, 
influenced  and  dominated  by  lona,  still  held  out,  maintaining 
that  what  was  good  enough  for  St.  Columba  was  good  enough 
for  them,  and  to  these  a  very  learned  and  holy  man  appealed — 
Cummian,  abbot  and  bishop  of  Clonfert.  He  examined  the 
various  cycles  of  the  Jews,  Greeks,  Latins  and  Egyptians,  ran- 
sacked Ecclesiastical  history  and  the  decrees  of  Synods  and 
Councils,  drew  arguments  from  Scripture  and  from  the  writings 
of  St.  Cyprian,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Augustine  and  others,  and  finally, 
appealing  to  their  common  sense,  he  asked  them  to  contemplate 
the  absurdity  of  their  position — that  alone  in  the  whole  world 
the  Scots  and  Britons  were  right,  while  Rome  and  Jerusalem 
and  Alexandria  and  Antioch  were  in  error,  f  But  learning  and 
argument  and  entreaty  were  vain.  These  stubborn  monks 
would  not  abandon  the  system  of  St.  Columba,  nor  was  it  until 
the  closing  years  of  the  seventh  century,  and  then  only  at  the 
earnest  entreaty  of  Adamnan,  that  they  abandoned  their  erron- 
eous system  and  adopted  the  more  correct  computation  of  Rome. 
Among  the  Anglo-Saxons  the  same  disputes  and  differences 
existed  as  among  the  Irish.  The  Roman  monks  followed  the 
Roman  Easter,  the  Irish  that  of  their  own  country;  and  as 
these  two  classes  of  monks  lived  and  laboured  side  by  side  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  the  people  witnessed  the  scandal  of  one  class 
of  monks  celebrating  Easter  weeks  ahead  of  others.  Among 
the  people,  each  system  had  its  adherents  ;  even  in  the  palace 
of  the  Northumbrian  king  uniformity  did  not  exist,  and  while 
the  king  was  celebrating  the  Paschal  festivity,  the  queen  ^vas 
still  practising  the  rigours  of  the  Lenten  fast.  To  establish 
uniformity  a  synod  was  held  at  Whitby  (660)  where  the  whole 
matter  was  debated  and  discussed.        The   Roman  system  was 

*  Healy,  p.  235. 

t  Usher's  Sylloge,  No.  XI.,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  432.  The  date  of  Cummian's 
Epistle  is  given  as  634,  and  for  a  monk  of  that  age  the  amount  of  learning 
shown  is  indeed  remarkable  ;  nor  is  the  writer's  learning  and  ability  more 
remarkable  than  his  humility. 


PROGRESS   OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  Jl 

defended  with  great  ability  by  Wilfred,  afterwards  Archbishop 
of  York,  the  Irish  system  by  Colman,  abbot  of  Lindisfarne,  with 
perhaps  less  ability  but  with  no  less  zeal.  King  Oswy,  who 
was  present  and  favourable  to  Colman,  was  converted  by  the 
arguments  of  Wilfred,  and  the  Synod,  following  his  example, 
adopted  the  Roman  system.*  With  an  obstinacy  little  worthy 
of  a  saint  and  little  in  keeping  with  his  own  high  character, 
Colman  refused  to  submit,  and  taking  with  him  the  bones  of 
his  predecessor,  Aidan,  and  accompanied  by  a  number  of  monks 
— Irish  and  Saxon — ^as  stubborn  as  himself,  he  left  Lindisfarne 
and  went  back  to  Ireland.  He  established  a  monastery  on  an 
island  olT  the  west  coast — the  island  of  Innisbofifin — an  island 
bleak  and  barren  and  waveworn  as  Lindisfarne  itself,  and  there 
he  spent  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  practising  the  greatest 
austerities  and  listening  to  the  wild  wailing  of  the  sea.  In  716, 
lona  itself  abandoned  its  ancient  errors  to  which  it  had  so 
tenaciously  clung. 

Lanigan  complains  that  the  accounts  left  of  events  in  the 
eighth  century  are  meagre  and  incomplete,  perhaps  owing  to 
neglect,  perhaps — which  is  more  likely — to  the  loss  of  documents, 
but  we  have  sufficient  materials  to  show  that  the  Church  of  that 
period  was  not  unworthy  of  its  past.  The  monasteries  of  Armagh 
Clonmacnoise,  Lismore,  Bangor,  Clonard  and  others  continued 
to  flourish  and  acquire  fame,  and  from  their  cloisters  a  succession 
of  saintly  and  learned  men  went  forth  who  spread  afar  the  fame 
of  the  Schools  in  which  they  were  trained.  The  missionary 
spirit  of  Irishmen  was  as  active  as  ever,  and  among  them  was 
Alto,  who  founded  a  monastery  near  Munich  (750)  called  after 
its  founder  Altmunster,  -f  Rumold,  an  Irish  bishop,  martyred 
near  Mechlin,  |  (775)  Virgilius  of  Salzburgh,  ||  among  the  first, 
if  not  the  first,  to  proclaim  the  opinion  of  the  sphericity  of  the 
earth  and  the  existence  of  the  antipodes,  and  Cummian,  who 
died  at  Bobbio  (735),  so  venerated  by  the  Lombard  king 
Luitfrand,  that  he  adorned  the  Irish  monk's  tomb  with  precious 
stones.**  And  what  has  been  written  of  two  other  Irishmen 
by  a  monk  of  St.  Gall  is  remarkable.      "  When  the  illustrious 


*  Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History,  Book  III.j  Chap.  25. 

Colman  had  St.  Columba  on  his  side,  but  Wilfred  was  able  to  show 
that  St.  Peter  was  on  his  own  side  and  this  it  was  that  determined  the 
King  to  change,  for  St.  Peter  was  the  door-keeper  of  Heaven  and  he  was 
unwilling  to  contradict  him,  lest  when  he  (Oswy)  came  to  the  gates  of 
Heaven,  there  should  be  no  one  to  admit  him,  St  Peter  being  his  adversary. 

t  Lanigan,  Vol.  III.,  p.   189. 

X  Ibid.^  p.    199. 

II  Usher*s  Sylloge,  No.  17. 

*  *  Lanigan,  Vol.  ill.,  p.   171. 


72  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

Charlemagne  began  to  reign  alone  in  the  western  part  of  the 
world  (772)  and  literature  was  everywhere  almost  forgotten, 
it  happened  that  two  Scots  of  Ireland  came  over  to  the  shores 
of  France  men,  incomparably  skilled  in  human  learning  and  in 
the  holy  Scriptures."*  These  were  Clemens  and  Albinus  ;  the 
former,  Charlemagne  kept  to  teach  in  France,  the  latter  he  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  School  of  Pavia. 

*  Lanigan,  Vol.  in.,  p.  208. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

The  First  Christian  Kings. 

Much  war  in  Continental  Europe  from  the  fifth  to  the  ninth  century — 
Ireland  during  the  same  period  never  invaded  but  once — yet  seldom 
at  peace,  because  the  chiefs  quarrelled  among  themselves — Part  of 
Caledonia  colonized  from  Dalriadia — Reign  of  Diarmid — Battle  of 
Cuildrevne — Tara  cursed — Reign  of  Aedh  MacAinmire — Convention 
of  Drumcat — Battle  of  Dunbolg — Reign  of  Donal — Battle  of  Moyrath — 
The  Plague  in  Ireland — Reign  of  Finachta — Invasion  of  the  North- 
umbrians— The  last  Feis  of  Tara — The  Boru  tribute  abolished  and 
revived — Battles  of  Allen  and   Ballyshannon. 

From  the  fifth  to  the  ninth  century  there  were  many  wars  in 
the  countries  of  Continental  Europe.  Goths,  Huns,  Vandals, 
Ostrogoths  and  Lombards,  each  in  turn  had  swept  like  a 
desolating  flood  over  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
leaving  death  and  desolation  in  its  track.*  Before  the  sixth 
century  dawned,  the  Empire  of  the  West  fell,  and  while  the  century 
was  yet  young,  the  Ostrogoths  ruled  in  Italy,  the  Visigoths  in 
Spain  the  Franks  in  Italy,  the  provinces  of  Britain  being  shared 
by  the  Angles,  Saxons  and  Jutes.  Like  vultures  over  their  prey, 
these  barbarians  often  quarrelled  with  each  other,  and  wars 
and  conquests  and  changes  of  government  were  the  result.  Before 
the  sixth  century  closed,  a  nev/  people — the  Lombards  ruled 
in  Italy  :  two  centuries  later  they  were  conquered  by  the  Franks, 
their  kingdom  ceased  to  exist,  and  three  centuries  after  the 
fall  of  the  Western  Empire,  a  Roman  Emperor  again  arose  in  the 
person  of  Charlemagne.  During  all  this  time,  if  we  except  an 
unimportant  inroad  of  the  Saxons,  Ireland  was  free  from  the 
ravages  of  foreign  invasion.  Never  subject  to  Rome,  perhaps 
it  was  never  heard  of  by  those  who  invaded  the  Roman  Empire 
nor  is  there  any  reason  to  think  that  if  these  barbarians  hosts 
had  heard  of  Ireland,  they  would  have  wasted  their  energies 
in  conquering  a  remote  island,  while  they  had  before  them  the 
fertile  fields  of  Italy  and  Gaul.  Untroubled  by  either  Frank 
or  Saxon,  Ireland  was  allowed   to  pursue  its  destiny   in  peace, 

*  Gibbon,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  348,  456,  480,  498. ;  Vol.  III.,  pp.  258. 


74  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

and  yet,  it  is  only  the  truth  to  say,  that  from  the  sixth  to  the 
ninth  century  its  record  was  one  of  turbulence  and  blood.  A 
crowd  of  chieftains,  or  petty  kings,  careless  of  the  national  wel- 
fare, and  intent  only  on  preserving  the  lawless  independence 
of  their  clans,  were  for  ever  contending  with  each  other.  A  dis- 
pute about  boundaries,  an  injury  to  a  clansman,  a  slight  or  ap- 
parent slight  to  the  chief,  perhaps  his  predatory  or  plundering 
instincts  to  possess  what  belonged  to  a  weaker  neighbour — from 
such  causes  war  often  arose — and  when  such  causes  were 
wanting,  vanity  or  ambition  supplied  others.  In  the  Brehon 
Law  it  is  stated  that  he  is  no  king  who  has  not  hostages,*  and 
these  were  usually  had  by  war.  The  more  of  these  hostages  a 
king  or  chief  had,  the  greater  was  he  acknowledged  to  be  ;  he 
regarded  their  number  with  as  much  complacency  as  the  Red 
Indian  regarded  the  number  of  scalps  that  hung  at  his  belt, 
and  Nial  is  best  remembered,  not  so  much  for  his  foreign  con- 
quests, as  because  of  the  nine  hostages  he  retained  in  his  power. 
As  if  these  various  causes  of  contention  were  not  sufficiently 
numerous,  there  was  besides  the  endless  struggles  for  the 
position  of  Ardri.  Since  the  death  of  Nial,  the  honor  was  re- 
stricted to  his  descendants,  but  his  descendants  were  numerous 
and  ambitious,  the  principle  of  primogeniture  was  not  recognised, 
there  were  many  candidates  for  the  kingly  ofifice,  and  whilst 
few  of  these  princes  were  willing  to  be  subjects,  fewer  still  were 
worthy  to  be  kings.  Nor  was  the  Ardri,  when  chosen,  ever  free 
from  trouble,  and  of  him  it  might  be  said  with  truth  that  uneasy 
was  the  head  which  wore  the  crown.  His  .friends  and  admirers 
insisted  that  he  should  exact  the  Boru  tribute,  and  if  he  showed 
any  reluctane  to  do  so,  they  taunted  him  with  his  impotence  f 
the  Leinstermen  seldom  paid  without  war  :  these  princes  who 
aspired  to  be  ardris  themselves,  but  whose  ambitious  hopes 
were  not  realised,  regarded  him  with  envy,  thwarted  all  his  plans, 
conspired  against  his  life,  perhaps  had  him  treacherously  as- 
sassinated, and  there  were  few  of  these  ardris  whose  end  was 
not  one  of  violence.  Of  the  twelve  kings  who  ruled  in  the  sixth 
century  all  but  two  were  either  murdered  or  fell  in  battle,  and 
their  successors  in  the  two  following  centuries  were  pursued 
with  similar  misfortune. 

If  everything  which  the  Bards  wrote  of  these  centuries  had 
come  down  to  us  our  annals  would  contain  much  more  than 

*  Senchus  Mor,  Vol.  IV.,  p.   51. 

t  If  the  Book  of  Leinster  is  entitled  to  credit^  Adamnan  was  highly 
displeased  with  King  Finachta,  when  he  renounced  the  Boru  tribute; 
but  the  story  is  probably  the  invention  of  some  bard,  for  a  man  so  saintly 
and  so  wise  as  Adamnan  would  hardly  be  guilty  of  such  unpatriotic 
conduct.     (Douglas  Hyde   •    A  Literary  History  of  Ireland,  pp.   236-7. 


THE   FIRST   CHRISTIAN   KINGS.  75 

they  do,  for  they  would  be  filled  with  exaggeration  and  fable. 
But  much  of  what  they  wrote  has  perished,  we  are  compelled 
to  confine  ourselves  to  facts  and  of  many  of  these  ardris,  all  we 
know  is  that  they  reigned,  that  they  fought  battles  and  that 
they  died.  The  great  events  that  mark  their  reigns  are  few, 
yet  there  are  a  few  of  some  importance  which  cannot  and  ought 
not  be  ignored.  In  the  reign  of  Lughaid  (503),  from  that  small 
territory  called  Dalriadia,  lying  eastward  of  the  river  Bann,  a 
colony  passed  over  the  sea  to  Caledonia.  They  were  led  by 
Fergus,  Engus  and  Loarn,  the  sons  of  Ere,  and  were  strong 
enough  to  effect  the  conquest  of  that  part  of  Caledonia  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Clyde,  north-west  along  the  broken  and 
irregular  coast  of  Argyle.*  The  land  was  not  rich,  nor  was  their 
territory  extensive,  but,  perhaps,  by  fresh  reinforcements  from 
Ireland,  they  were  able  to  establish  and  consolidate  their  power, 
until,  ultimately,  at  a  later  age,  they  extended  the  limits  of  their 
possessions,  defeated  the  Picts,  and  became  masters  of  all 
Caledonia.  The  same  year  that  these  colonists  left  Dalriadia 
for  Caledonia,  the  Ardri  Lughaid  died.  His  two  immediate 
successors  were  Muirchertach  (died  527),  and  Tuathal  (527-44), 
about  neither  of  whom    anything  remarkable  is  known. 

The  succeeding  Ardri  was  Diarmid,  and  his  reign  is  marked 
by  events  of  considerable  importance.  His  birth,  and  perhaps 
also  his  abilities,  had  marked  him  out  as  Tuathal's  successor, 
but  that  Ardri  had  other  projects  in  view,  and  to  prevent  Diarmid 
coming  to  the  throne  he  proclaimed  him  an  outlaw,  and  set  a 
price  on  his  head.  Diarmid  lived  for  many  years  the  life  of  a 
fugitive  and  an  outcast,  and,  at  length,  took  refuge  with 
St.  Kieran,  who  was  then  founding  his  monastery  at 
Clonmacnoise.  He  aided  the  Saint  in  putting  up  his  first  building, 
and,  whilst  driving  a  post  into  the  earth,-took  Kieran's  hand, 
and  placed  it  over  his  own  in  token  of  reverence  and  submission,  f 
This  fact  is  commemorated,  and  on  one  of  the  crosses  still  standing 
at  Clonmacnoise,  there  is  a  representation  of  Kieran  with  his  hand 
resting  on  that  of  Diarmid. +  When  he  became  Ardri,  Diarmid 
was  not  so  submissive  or  respectful  to  the  monks,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  had  serious  disputes  with  them,  disputes  which  brought 
many  ills,  both  on  himself  and  on  his  country.  In  560,  the 
Feis  of  Tara  was  held,  and  during  the  usual  festivities,  a  young 
Connaught  prince,  who  was  kept  as  a  hostage  at  Tara,  killed 
another  hostage,  whether  by  accident  or  design  does  not  appear. || 

*  Reeves'  Adamnan,  pp.  433-8  (additional  notes);  Reeves  gives  the 
date  of  this  migration  as   506. 

t  Healy,  p.  262.  The  Saint  in  return  prophesied  that  Diarmid  would 
be  Ardri. 

\  Ibid,    p.   267. 

II  Four  Masters,  Vol.  I.,  p.  1913      Healy,  p.  310 


76  .  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

For  such  a  heinous  offence  death  was  the  punishment,  and  hoping 
to  save  his  Hfe,  the  young  prince  fled  to  Columba's  monastery 
for  sanctuary  ;  but  the  right  of  sanctuary  was  denied,  the  Ardri 
was  stern  and  determined  to  punish,  and  the  young  man  was 
violently  torn  from  the  shelter  of  Columba's  monastery,  and 
instantly  put  to  death.  Another  refugee — Hugh  Gawrie  of 
Hy-Many,  who  had  killed  the  king's  sergeant,  Backlaure — fled 
to  the  monastery  of  Rhodanus  of  Lorrha.  *  But  again  the  right 
of  sanctuary  was  denied,  Hugh  was  carried  to  Tara,  and  when 
Rhodanus  followed  and  earnestly  begged  the  prisoner's  release, 
he  was  answered  with  insults  by  the  king,  f  Such  conduct 
on  the  part  of  the  Ardri  roused  the  indignation  of  the  clergy, 
Rhodanus  and  other  monks  went  to  Tara,  cursed  Diarmid, 
and  even  cursed  Tara  itself,  and  it  is  certain  that  Diarmid  was 
the  last  monarch  who  dwelt  there.  X  That  ancient  palace 
gradually  fell  into  decay,  its  halls  were  silent,  its  banquets  and 
feasts  ceased,  and  the  lament  of  a  modern  poet  is  well-known 
that  the  harp  of  Tara  hung  silent  upon  the  palace  walls,  and  that 
on  the  rare  occasions  on  which  its  chords  were  touched  it  was 
only  to  sing  of  the  ruin  of  Tara.li  In  their  dispute  with  the 
Ardri,  Rhodanus  and  Columba  may  have  been  right — the 
privilege  of  sanctuary  was  an  important  one  and  ought  not 
lightly  be  resigned — and  if  they  had  chastised  Diarmid  himself 
with  the  spiritual  weapons  at  their  command,  posterity  would 
not  have  much  reason  to  complain.  But  in  covering  Tara  with 
their  maledictions,  they  did  what  was  unwise  and  unpatriotic 
for  it  was  the  residence  of  the  Ardri  for  ages,  it  was  the  centre 
and  symbol  of  united  government,  no  other  place  was  so  re- 
spected by  the  people.  After  Diarmid,  each  Ardri  dwelt  in 
his  own  ancestral  territory,  at  Aileach  in  the  north,  and  at 
Dunsciath,  near  Mullingar ;  Tara,  darkened  and  blighted  by 
the  Saint's  curses,  was  deserted,  the  Ardri's  decrees  emanating 
from  Aileach  and  Dunsciath  received  but  scant  courtesy ; 
they  were  neither  obeyed  nor  feared,  and  the  Ardris  themselves 
came  to  be  spoken  of  as  kings  with  opposition — kings  with  a 
doubtful  title  to  the    throne. 

Other  evils  also  came  upon   Diarmid.     Columba  had   been 
paying  a  visit  to  his  friend,  St.  Finian  of  Moville,  and  this  latter 


*  Annals  of  Clonmacnotse,  at  the  year  563. 

t  Petrie,  Antiquiiies  of  Tara  Hill,    p.     126. 

X  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.  They  cursed  Tara  and  prayed  that  no  king 
or  queen  should  ever  after  dwell  there. 

II  In  Adamnan's  day,  Tara  was  used  as  the  place  of  a  national  assembly^ 
as  it  was  sometimes,  besides,  for  ecclesiastical  assemblies.}  (Petrie's  Tara 
Hill,  p.   174.) 


THE   FIRST   CHRISTIAN   KINGS.  Jj 

monk  had  in  his  possession  a  valuable  copy  of  the  Psalter.  Desiring 
a  copy  for  his  own  use,  Columba,  secretly,  and  without  asking 
or  obtaining  Finian's  permission,  made  a  copy  of  the  book.  The 
secret  was  discovered  ;  Finian  was  angry,  and  demanded  the 
copy ;  Columba  refused  ;  the  dispute  was  referred  to  the 
Ardri  who  decided  against  Columba,  on  the  ground  that  the 
copy  went  with  the  book,  as  the  calf  did  with  the  cow.*  Columba 
was  of  the  royal  race  of  Tirconnell,  he  was  not  yet  a  saint,  but 
a  proud,  self-willed  man  with  the  warlike  instincts  of  the  princes 
from  whom  he  sprang.  He  refused  to  abide  by  the  decision  of 
the  Ardri,  angrily  made  his  way  to  the  north,  roused  with  his 
fierce  complaints,  his  relatives  and  friends,  and  Tirconnell, 
assisted  by  the  King  of  Connaught,  made  war  upon  Diarmid. 
The  battle  between  the  contending  hosts  was  fought  at 
Cuildrevne  t  in  the  County  of  Sligo  (561),  and  Diarmid  was 
utterly  defeated.  The  copy  of  the  Psalter,  since  known  as  the 
Cathach,  or  battle  book,  was  captured  and  ever  afterwards 
kept  in  the  family  of  the  O'Donnell's.  The  stormy  and  troubled 
life  of  Diarmid  was  closed  (565),  by  a  violent  death.  In  that 
year,  \  he  was  killed  by  Black  Hugh,  one  of  the  princes  of 
Dalaraidhe.  His  successors  were  Donal  and  Fergus,  who  reigned, 
as  joint  sovereigns,  but  their  reign  lasted  only  one  year.  They 
were  succeeded  by  Eochy  and  Baedan,  also  as  joint  sovereigns  ; 
both  of  these  kings  were  killed,  in  568,  Ainmire,  the  next  Ardri, 
was  killed,  a  year  later,  and  his  successor,  a  year  later  still. 

The  next  Ardri  was  Aedh,  son  of  Ainmire,  and  his  reign, 
beginning  about  570,  is  noted  for  its  length,  nearly  30  years, 
and  also  for  the  fact  that  during  that  time  was  held  (590)  the 
Convention  of  Drumcat.||  The  place  at  which  this  assembly 
met  is  situated  in  the  county  of  Londonderry,  not  far  from  the 
town  of  Newtownlimivady,  on  the  banks  of  the  little  river  Roe. 
A  long  mound,  sometimes  called  the  Mullagh,  and  sometimes 
Daisy  Hill,  still  marks  the  spot.  Called  by  the  Ardri  himself, 
the  assembly  was  the  most  representative  and  the  most  numer- 
ously attended  that  had  met  in  Ireland,  since  the  Assemblies 
at  Tara  ceased  to  be  held.  Accommodated  in  tents,  which 
covered  the  summit  and  sides  of  the  hill,  there  were  gathered 
together   from   all   quarters   of   Ireland,   kings,   princes,   bards. 

*  Healyj  p<  250. 

\  Columba  frayed  for  his  own  friends  while  the  battle  raged; 
(Adamnan,  p.  250.) 

X  This  is  the  date  given  by  Tighernach  {Four  Masters,  Vol.  I.,  p.  200^ 
note.) 

II  This  O'Donovan  believes  to  be  the  true  date,  though  the  Annals 
of  Clontnacnoise  give  the  date  to  be  587^  and  the  Annals  of  Ulster  to  be 
576. 


78  '         HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

bishops,  abbots  and  various  members  of  the  clergy  ;  while  from 
the  Dalriadian  colony  of  Caledonia  came  king  Aidan,  accompanied 
by  a  still  more  celebrated  man,  Columba,  now  Abbot  of  lona. 
The  sittings  of  the  Convention  were  protracted  but  were  not 
withotit  fruit.  The  Ardri,  it  appears,  had  received  tribute  from 
the  princes  of  Dalriadia  in  Ireland,  and  also  from  the  Caledonia 
colony  of  the  Dalriadians.  But  Aidan,  king  of  the  latter,  re- 
fused to  continue  paying  such  tribute,  alleging  that  he  was  an 
independent  king,  and  not  a  mere  tributary  chief.*  The  Ardri, 
rejected  these  pretensions  and  menaced  Aidan,  whom  he  re- 
garded as  a  rebellious  vassal.  To  Columba,  especially,  belongs 
the  merit  of  having  settled  this  dispute.  Aidan  had  in  many 
ways  befriended  him  and  his  monastery  at  lona  ;  he  was  his 
kinsman  and  neighbour  ;  Columba  had  anointed  him  as  king.f 
The  Abbot  knew  the  difficulties  with  which  he  was  surrounded 
in  his  Caledonian  possessions  ;  that  he  was  encompassed  by  power- 
ful enemies — the  Northern  and  Southern  Picts,  and  that  against 
these  enemies  he  could  never  make  headway,  if  kept  in  a  position 
of  dependence  and  tutelage,  hampered  by  a  yearly  tribute  to 
the  Irish  king.  It  would  be  a  repetition  of  the  Boru  tribute 
with  all  its  attendant  evils.  His  arguments  were  convincing, 
his  influence  with  the  Convention  was  great  and  his  views  pre- 
vailed. Aidan  was  declared  independent  and  he  and  his  people 
on  their  side  undertook  to  be  always  the  allies  and  friends,  as 
they   were   already    the    relatives  of    the    Irish    monarch. 

The  position  and  privileges  of  the  Bards  were  also  considered, 
and  afforded  much  matter  for  discussion.  Nor  was  it  except 
through  the  great  influence  of  Columba  that  this  question  also 
was  satisfactorily  settled.  In  each  kingdom,  and  even  in  each 
clan,  there  was  at  least  one  of  these  bards,  granted  an  official 
allowance  and  occupying  an  official  position.  Dressed  in  his 
white  robe,  and  not  unfrequently  accompanied  by  a  retinue 
of  musicians,  he  followed  his  chief  into  every  battle  in  which 
he  was  engaged.  The  varying  fortunes  of  the  fight  gave  in- 
spiration to  his  muse,  and  as  the  ranks  of  battle  advanced,  or 
retreated,  he  poured  forth  his  unpremeditated  song.  He  urged 
the  timid,  steadied  the  hesitating,  applauded  valour,  put  cowardice 
to  shame  ;  and  the  coward  had  less  fear  of  the  foemen's  weapons, 
than  of  the  biting  satire  of  his  bard.  In  peace  he  sat  as  an 
honored  guest  in  the  kingly  banquet-hall,  where  he  extolled 
the  merits  of  his  chief,  his  prowess  in  war,  his  fleetness  in  the 
chase,  his  wisdom  in  council  ;  female  beauty  and    female  virtue 

*  Reeves'  Adamnan,  p.  92j  note. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.  198-9.  One  of  the  first  instances  on  record  where  a  king 
was  anointed,  and  all  the  more  remarkable,  because  the  anointing 
ecclesiastic  was  not  a  bishop,  but  only  an  abbot. 


THE   FIRST   CHRISTIAN   KINGS.  79 

received  their  meed  of  praise  at  his  hands  ;  and  when  he  spoke  of 
battles,  it  was  to  chronicle  in  song  the  heroic  deeds  of  his  kinsmen, 
and  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the    memory  of  the  fallen  brave.*     His 
recompense  was  given   with  no  niggard  hand.     The  Chief  Bards 
ranked  as  high  as  princes,  and  in  all  public  assemblies  their  place 
was  next  to  that  of  the  king.     Large  landed  estates  were  given 
them,  and  many  of  them  had  an  income  which    might  well  sup- 
port the  dignity  of  a  prince.     Several  colleges    were  established 
where  these  bards  were  trained,  where  history  and  poetry  were 
taught ;    these   colleges   were    filled    with     students   and,   before 
the  close  of  the  sixth  century,  the  Bards  had  become  so  numerous 
and  wealthy  that  one-third  of    the  land  of  Ireland  was  in  their 
hands.     But  as   toleration  begets   security,  privilege  begets   in- 
solence ;   and  these  Bards,  loaded  with  honours  and   with  wealth, 
were   still    unsatisfied.      Numbers   of    them,    having    no   official 
position,  wandered    over    the  country  and  wasted  their  lives  in 
idleness  and  dissipation.      At  the  richer  and  better  class  of  homes, 
they   demanded   hospitality   as   a   right,   and    according   to   the 
character  of  the  reception  they  got,  so  was  their  praise  or  blame. 
Whoever     received    them    well,    they     covered      with     fulsome 
adulation,    glossed   over     vices   where   they   existed,   and    found 
virtue  and  merit  where  there  were  none.     But  whoever  received 
them  coldly,  or  refused  to  receive  them  at  all,  they  held  up  to 
public  scorn  and  contempt.     Such  an  order  of  men,  idle,  useless, 
and  lazy,  had  become  a  public  nuisance  and  a  national  danger  ; 
there  were  few  they  had  not    offended  or  disgusted  ;  and  the 
cry   in    Ireland  was     universal     that   the   Bardic    Order   should 
be    abolished,  j     Columba    saved    them    from    extinction.  +     He 
admitted   there  were  grave    abuses,  but  he  pleaded  for  reform 
rather  than  for  extinction.     The  bards  were  historians,  as  well 
as  poets,  and  he  asked  :  If  there  were  no  bards,  who  would  write 
the  history  of  the  country,  who  would  trace  the  pedigrees  of  its 
princes,  who  would    sing  the  praises  of  its   heroes  ?     Columba 
himself  was  a  poet,  ||  a  fact  which  quickened  his  sympathy  with 
the  threatened  order.     The  Convention  hearkened  to  his  appeal, 
the  Bards  were  saved,  but  their  number  was  diminished.     Hence- 
forth only  one  bard  was  allowed  to  each  provincial  prince,  and 

*  Walker;  Historical  Memoirs  of  the  Irish  Bards,  pp.   10-17: 
t  Douglas   Hyde  ;   Literary  History  of  Ireland,  pp.   488-490. 
+  Though  Columba  saved  the  bards    and  in  gratitude  received  their 
praises,  yet  the  relations  between  the  bards  and  the  clergy  were  not  of 
a  cordial  character.    (Reeves'  Adamnan,  p.   80.) 

II  Reeves'   Adamnan,    pp.    264  et  seq.     It  is  in  his  "  Dialogue    with 
Cormac,  "(p.  267),  he  declares  that 

"  Death  is  better  in  reproachless  Erin 
Than  perpetual  life  in  Alba." 


8o  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

each  lord  of  a  cantred,  and  this  bard  was  bound  to  use  his  talents 
only  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  honor  of  his  native  land.  In 
the  Bardic  seminaries  the  number  of  students  was  strictly  limited  ; 
of  all  these  seminaries  the  Chief  Bard  of  the  Ardri  was  president, 
and  it  was  he  who  nominated  the  bards  for  the  service  of  the 
various  princes  and  lords.* 

But  while  these  matters  were  satisfactorily  arranged,  that 
fruitful  source  of  discord  and  strife — the  Boru  tribute — was 
left  untouched.  The  tax  was  still  insisted  upon  by  the  Ardri  ; 
the  Leinstermen  resisted,  under  their  able  chief,  Branduf^, 
and  a  battle  was  fought  at  Dunbolg.  t  (598.)  The  advantage 
of  numbers  was  on  the  side  of  the  Ardri,  but  the  advantage  of 
ability  and  skill  was  with  the  Leinster  king  ;  the  Ardri's  army 
was  routed  and  himself  was  among  the  slain.  The  last  king 
of  the  century,  as  well  as  the  first,  thus  met  a  violent  death.  Nor 
was  the  fate  of  the  kings,  who  reigned  in  the  first  years  of  the 
seventh  century,  anything  different.  The  names  of  these 
kings  and  the  order  in  which  they  reigned  is  known — Aedh 
Alan  and  Coleman,  as  joint  sovereigns,  Aedh  Uairidhnach 
Maelcovy  and  Sweeny.  Their  reigns  fill  up  the  space  from 
the  battle  of  Dunbolg  to  the  accession  of  Donal  (627)  :  +  and 
of  each  it  can  be  said,  that  his  reign  was  uneventful,  his  life 
unmarked  by  any  great  incident,  his  death — except  that  of  Aedh 
Uairidhnach — brought  about  by  violence. 

The  personal  talents  of  Donal,  and  at  least  one  notable  event 
in  his  reign,  have  distinguished  the  period  in  which  he  lived, 
and  mark  that  period  out  from  the  time  which  immediately 
preceded  and  followed  it.  The  son  of  Aedh,  the  son  of  Ainmire, 
both  of  whom  were  Ardris,  Donal  was  but  a  child,  when  the 
Convention  of  Drumcat  was  held,  and  was  brought  there  by 
his  nurses,  so  that  he  might  receive  St.  Columba's  blessing. 
The  saint  blessed  him  and  predicted  that  he  would  survive  all 
his  brothers,  that  he  would  be  a  famous  king,  that  he  would 
be  victorious  against  all  his  enemies,  and  that  he  would  die  in 
his  own  house  and  in  his  own  bed  peaceably,  and  surrounded 
,by  his  friends. II     And    the  prophecy  in  its  entirety  was  fulfilled, 

*  Keatingj  pp.  379-80.  At  Drumcat  the  Bards  were  exempted 
from  taxes  and  their  houses  were  invested  with  the  privilege  of 
sanctuary.      Vid.  also  Walker's  Bards,  pp.  53-54- 

•j-  Dunbolg  is  situated  near  Hollywood  in  the  County  of  Wicklow. 
(Four  Masters,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  218-19.) 

X  Four  Masters,  598,  Aedh  Slan  and  Coleman,  604,  Aedh  Uairidhnach, 
612,  Maelcovy;  615,  Sweeny. 

II  Reeves'  Adamnan,  p.  37.  Donal's  eldest  brother  Conal  died  in 
604,  his  second  brother,  Cumasach^  was  slain  at  Dunbolg,  Maelcovy,  the 
third  brother,  was  slain  (615)  at  the  battle  of  Sliabh  Truim,  in  Co.  Tyrone. 


THE   FIRST   CHRISTIAN   KINGS.  8 1 

He  became  Ardri  in  627,  and  was  soon  involved  in  war  with 
an  Ulster  prince  named  Congal.  This  prince  had  made  war — 
apparently  an  unjust  war — on  the  preceding  Ardri,  Sweeny, 
and  in  a  battle  fought  between  them,  Sweeny  was  slain.  Such 
conduct  Donal  was  determined  to  punish  ;  he  regarded  Congal 
as  an  unjust  aggressor,  who  had  acted  as  a  rebellious  subject. 
He  made  war  upon  him,  defeated  him  at  the  battle  of  Dun- 
Ceithern  in  Derry  (628),  and  drove  him  from  his  possessions  in 
Ulster.*  The  exiled  prince  sought  refuge  among  the  Saxons, 
and  did  not  abandon  the  hope  of  regaining  his  lost  dominions, 
as  well  as  being  revenged  upon  the  Ardri.  After  spending  nine 
years  in  exile,  he  returned  to  Ulster,  bringing  with  him  a 
mercenary  army  gathered  together  from  many  quarters,  Saxons, 
Scots,  Britons  and  Picts  ;  and  these,  joined  to  his  own  followers 
at  home,  made  up  a  numerous  army.f  But  the  Ardri  was  not 
dismayed.  He  was  an  active  and  able  prince,  and  rapidly 
gathered  an  army  together,  and  assisted  by  the  forces  of  Munster, 
Leinster  and  Connaught,  he  marched  northwards. J  He  did 
not  wish  to  fight  Congal,  for  he  loved  him,  he  was  his  foster  father, 
and  he  sorrowfully  declared  that  his  fight  with  him  was  that 
of  a  son  and  a  father. ||  But  rebellion  should  be  put  down,  and 
it  was  necessary  that  Congal  and  his  mercenaries  should  be 
crushed.  The  opposing  forces  met  at  Moyrath  (637),  a  place 
now  marked  by  the  little  town  of  Moira,  in  Down.  Not  since 
the  battle  of  Dunbolg  was  there  so  fiercely  contested  a  fight, 
in  which  the  most  stubborn  valour  was  displayed,  and  in  which 
success  was  long  doubtful.  The  single  combat  between  Congal, 
on  one  side,  and  a  chieftain  named  Conal  on  the  other  side,  is 
compared  in  a  bardic  tale  of  the  twelfth  century  to  that  between 
Hector  and  Antaeus.**  The  soldiers  gathered  round  their  chiefs, 
and  were  animated  by  their  example,  and  for  six  days  the  battle 
raged.  The  victory,  though  long  delayed,  was  decisive.  Congal 
was  slain;  of  his  Ulster  troops  only  600  were  left,  and  his  allies 
from  across  the  sea  were  almost  exterminated,  ff  For  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  Donal's  reign  was  peaceable,  disturbed  neither 
by  native  or  foreigner  ;  and  he  died  (644),  as  St.  Columba  had 
foretold,  on  his  bed,  and  surrounded  by  his  friends.     And  special 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  Adamnan  (Reeves),  pp.  200-201. 

X  Battle  of  Moyrath  (Edited  by  O'Donovan),  Irish  Archaelogical  Society^ 
p.  215. 

II  Ibid.,  p.    135. 

*  *  Ibid.,  p.   259. 

t  t  If  the  Bardic  Tale  (Battle  of  Moyrath),  could  be  taken  as  true,  only 
one  foreigner — Dubdhiadh — a  Druid,  survived,  and  he  swam  across  to 
Scotland,  with  a  dead  hero  tied  to  his  leg  (p._32i),"^a  fiction  not  unworthy 
of  a  Bard. 

G 


82  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

Stress  has  been  laid  on  this  fact,  *  so  rare  was  it  for  an  Irish 
king  to  die  a  peaceful  death  in  these  days  of  violence  and  strife. 

For  forty  years  after  the  death  of  Donal,  important  events 
are  few.  There  was  the  usual  quarrelling  among  the  candidates 
for  the  position  of  Ardri,  but  scarcely  anything  else,  except  that 
the  country  was  visited  by  a  plague  f  (660),  the  ravages  of  which 
were  considerable.  Almost  in  every  house  there  was  death, 
among  those  who  were  carried  off  being  Dermott  and  Blaithmac, 
who  ruled  jointly  as  ardris.  In  the  reign  of  Finachta,  Ireland 
was  for  the  first  time  (684)  invaded  by  a  Saxon  King.  The 
Northumbrian  king,  Egfrid,  apparently,  without  any  pro- 
vocation, or  any  design  except  plunder,  sent  his  general,  Berta, 
and  an  army  across  to  the  east  coast  of  Ireland.  The  invaders 
wasted  and  spoiled  the  whole  country  along  the  coast  from  Dublin 
to  Drogheda,  destroyed  and  robbed  the  churches  and  monasteries, 
and  carried  away  many  of  the  natives  into  captivity.  Finachta 
had  not  the  energy  of  King  Donal,  or  he  might  have  driven  out 
these  intruders,  but  whatever  qualities  he  had,  military  capacity 
was  not  one  of  them  ;  the  resistance  he  offered  was  feeble  and 
futile,  and  Berta  and  his  Northumbrians  were  able  to  plunder 
and  destroy  as  they  willed.  Bede  has  condemned  with  just 
severity  this  invasion  by  the  Northumbrian  king,  laments  that 
he  should  without  cause  have  attacked  an  inoffensive  nation, 
who  were  always  friendly  to  the  English  and  regards  his  defeat 
and  death  the  following  year,  at  the  hands  of  the  Picts,  as  the 
just  punishment  for  this  crime.  + 

A  century  had  passed — a  century  of  war  and  strife,  since  the 
national  assembly  of  Drumcat,  until  again  another  similar 
assembly  was  convened.  This  time  (697),  it  was  at  Tara,  and 
is  remarkable  as  being  the  last  Feis  of  Tara.  As  at  Drumcat 
the  notabilities  of  the  whole  land  were  there, ||  kings,  princes, 
bishops  and  abbots,  and  so  also  was  Columba's  successor, 
Adamnan,  ninth  ablDOt  of  lona.  One  law  which  the  assembly 
made  is  remarkable,  it  was  a  law  prohibiting  women  from  taking 
part  in  battle.  It  was  afterwards  called  Adamnan's  law,  because 
it  was  at  his  suggestion  and  through  his  influence  it  was  passed. 
Such  a  law  had  been  made  at  the  Convention  of  Drumcat,  but 
in  Ireland  abuses  are  tenacious  of  existence,  the  law    continued 

*  Reeves'  Adamnan,  pp.   37-38. 

t  Four  Masters. 

X  Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History,  Book  IV.,  chap.  26.  Bede  says  that  the 
Irish  "  prayed  long  and  fervently  for  vengeance." 

II  There  were  thirty  nine  ecclesiastics,  presided  over  by  the  abbot  of 
Armagh  ;  at  the  head  of  the  laity  was  Loingsech,  the  Ardri,  who  succeeded 
Finachta,  in  695,  and  reigned  until  703.  (Reeves'  Adamnan— A^^tndis. 
to  Preface.) 


THE   FIRST   CHRISTIAN   KINGS,  83 

to  be  disregarded,  and,  a  century  later,  it  was  necessary  that  it 
should  be  re-enacted  and  re-enforced.  On  men  only,  the  stern 
duty  of  active  warfare  is  imposed,  and  if  women  are  found  upon 
the  battlefield,  it  is  not  as  combatants  to  mingle  in  the  fray. 
To  sympathise,  to  comfort,  to  console,  to  ease  the  stricken  limb, 
to  lift  up  the  drooping  head,  to  staunch  the  bleeding  v/ound, 
to  moisten  the  parched  lips,  to  cool  the  aching  brow,  to  whisper 
into  the  ear  words  of  consolation  and  hope,  to  recall  the  prayer 
learned  at  a  mother's  knee  and  lost  amid  the  dissipation  of  camps, 
to  point  with  trust  to  that  unknown  land  on  which  the  soul 
is  about  to  enter,  and  on  the  threshold  of  which  she  trembles 
and  fears,  and  finally,  to  reverently  close  the  eye  when  the 
spirit  has  winged  its  flight,  it  is  such  acts  as  these  we  expect 
of  women,  and  such  that  give  her  dignity  amid  the  roar  and  the 
crash  of  battle.  There  are  times  when  she  may  go  farther.  Her 
honor,  her  personal  liberty  may  be  imperilled, her  faith  endangered 
her  country  on  the  point  of  being  enslaved  by  an  alien  and  hated 
power.  In  such  circumstances  women  cannot  be  blamed  if, 
rising  superior  to  the  natural  weakness  of  their  sex,  they  rush 
to  arms  and  insist  on  fighting  like  men.  It  is  easy  and  natural 
to  sympathise  with  those  women  of  Germany,  who,  with  dis- 
hevelled hair,  implored  of  their  own  soldiers  on  the  battlefield 
not  to  yield  to  the  enemy,  that  is,  not  to  permit  their  women  to 
become  slaves  ;  *  and  it  is  natural  also  to  admire  those  women 
of  Limerick,  who,  when  their  city  was  besieged,  fought  by  the 
side  of  their  men,  and  as  valiantly  as  they,  and  helped  to  drive 
the  soldiers  of  King  William  from  out  their  city,  baffled,  beaten 
and  dismayed.  But  it  is  different  when  we  contemplate  the 
woman  who  fights  for  the  sake  of  fight,  with  the  fury  of  battle  in 
her  eye  ;  and  in  the  pages  of  the  Greek  historian  there  is  no  class 
of  woman  inspires  us  with  more  aversion  than  those  Amazons 
of  Scythia,  "  who  shoot  with  the  bow,  throw  the  javelin  and 
ride  on  horseback,  and  have  never  learned  the  employments 
of  women."  f  Happily  they  belong  more  to  mythology  than 
to  history.  The  Irishwomen  of  Adamnan's  day  were  not 
Amazons,  yet,  sometimes  their  conduct  was  not  dissimilar,  and 
a  sight  which  the  Abbot  saw  in  one  of  his  journeys  through 
Meath  was  as  barbarous  as  could  be  seen  among  the  most  brutal 
of  men.  In  a  battle  that  was  being  fought,  women  were  engaged 
as  combatants,  on  both  sides,  and  Adamnan  saw  a  woman  of  one 
side  drag  along  a  v/oman  of  the  other  side,  with  an  iron  hook 
sunk  in  the  woman's  breast.J  To  stop  such  revolting  scenes, 
to  recall  woman  to  what  became  her  sex,  to  restrict  her  to  the 

*  Caesar  ;     De  Bella  Gallico  Lib.  I,  chap;  52; 
\  Herodotus,  Book  IV.,  chap,   1 14. 
X  Healy,  p.   342. 


84'  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

sphere  of  womanhood,  Adamnan's  law  was  passed ;  and  the 
man  whose  influence  was  strong  enough  to  have  it  enacted 
and  enforced  deserved  well  both  of  his  own  age  and  of  after  times. 
In  the  reign  of  Finachta  (674-690)  that  monarch  did  at 
least  one  act  which  redounded  to  his  honor.  At  the  instance 
of  St.  Moling,  bishop  of  Ferns,  he  renounced  for  ever,  for  himself 
and  as  far  as  he  could  for  his  successors,  the  Boru  tribute.*  It 
would  be  difficult  to  imagine  any  arrangement  more  fruitful 
of  strife,  than  the  infliction  upon  Leinster  of  this  tribute.  It 
was  unjust  and  offensive  to  that  province,  and  its  exaction 
was  usually  resisted  by  force,  that  is  when  Leinster  was  strong 
enough  to  resist.  To  abolish  for  ever  this  unhappy  tribute  which 
had  worked  so  many  ills  and  was  likely  to  work  more,  St. 
Moling  intervened  with  the  Ardri,  and  happily  with  success. 
And  the  promise  which  Finachta  made  he  faithfully  kept.  But 
his  successors  did  not  follow  his  example  ;  they  refused  to  be 
bound  by  his  promises,  and  had  neither  his  wisdom  nor  his 
patriotism.  The  hated  tribute  was  revived,  with  the  result  that 
the  reigning  Ardri,  Fergal,  in  trying  to  enforce  it,  was  defeated 
at  Allen  in  Kildare  j  (722),  by  the  outraged  and  indignant 
Leinster  men,  the  Ardri  himself  being  among  the  slain.  As  a 
sequel  to  that  battle  and  its  result,  Leinster  was  again  attacked 
{7?)7)X  hy  Fergal 's  son,  who  was  then  Ardri,  and  at  Ballyshannon, 
in  Kildare,  the  Leinstermen  were  defeated,  their  army  almost 
exterminated  and  Leinster  left  with  scarce  a  man  to  defend  her. 
Thus  were  these  contests  kept  up,  sometimes  suspended  but 
again  renewed  ;  and  while  Leinster  and  successive  Ardris 
weakened  and  exhausted  each  other,  a  new  enemy  was  about 
to  appear  on  the  scene,  against  whom,  when  divided,  they  could 
effect  but  little,  but  whom,  if  united,  they  might  have  over- 
thrown. 

*  Healy,  p.  428. 

t  Four  Masters.     The  Ardri   had   21,000   men,   Leinster  only  9,000. 

The  list  of  the  chiefs  who  fell  is  given  in  the  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise 
at  717. 

\  Ibid.,  at  the  year  -Ji},.  The  Ardri  was  Aedh  Allen.  The  place  where 
the  battle  was  fought  is  "  four  miles  south-west  of  KilcuUen  Bridge."- 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

The  Danish  Invasion. 

The  Northmen  of  the  eighth  century — Their  first  arrival  in  Ireland,  places 
plundered  by  them — Arrival  of  Turgesius — His  successes  and  death — 
Some  victories  gained  by  the  Irish — Fingalls  and  Duvgalls — Reign 
of  Flann — No  fresh  Danish  inroads — Native  chiefs  quarrel — Danes 
expelled  from  Dublin,  but  again  return — Danes  at  Limerick — Miseries 
of  the  natives  under  their  rule — Dublin  captured  by  Malachy — 
Rivalry  between  Malachy  and  Brian — Battle  of  Glenmama — Malachy 
ceases  to  be  Ardri. 

The  coasts  of  Scandinavia  were  inhabited,  in  the  eighth 
century,  by  a  w^arHke  and  savage  race,  who,  under  the  varying 
names  of  Northmen  and  Danes,  were  long  the  terror  of  Western 
Europe.  The  Goths,  who  so  often  harassed  the  Roman  provinces, 
and  who,  in  the  third  century,  were  the  alHes  and,  in  the  fifth 
century,  the  conquerors  of  Rome,  had  their  original  home  or 
the  shores  of  the  Baltic*  and  from  the  same  coasts  the  Angles 
and  Saxons  issued,  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,!  first  to  assist 
and  afterwards  to  conquer  the  Britons.  The  similarity  of  manners 
and  beliefs  between  these  different  races  indicates  that  they 
came  from  common  ancestors,  and  were  all  members  of  the 
great  Teutonic  race.  But,  in  the  eighth  century,  they  differed 
much  among  themselves.  The  Goths  of  Italy  and  Spain,  whose 
morals  had  been  purified  by  their  Christian  beliefs  and  whose 
manners  had  become  softened  by  contact  with  civilization,  bore 
but  little  resemblance  to  the  savages  who  fought  under  the 
banners  of  Alaric.  Nor  was  the  difference  less  marked  between 
the  Christian  Anglo-Saxons,  who  could  already  boast  of  the 
scholarship  of  Alcuin  and  Bede,  and  their  savage  kinsmen,  who 
in  their  incursions  spared  neither  age  nor  sex,  and  whose  progress 
through  Britain  could  be  marked  by  heaps  of  human  bones.  % 
But  the  Northmen  of  the  eighth  century  were  still  savages,  and 
neither    Goth   nor  Saxon   at   their  worst  were    more    ferocious 


*  Gibbon,  Vol.  I.,  p.   i88. 
of  Sweden. 

t  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  138. 
\  Gibbon,  Vol.  II.,  p.  570.- 


Their  homes  were  in  the  southern  portion 


86  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

than  they.  War  and  piracy  were  their  favourite  occupations  ; 
they  fought  for  the  sake  of  fighting,  deemed  it  a  duty  to  revenge 
the  sHghtest  affront  offered  them,*  considered  it  meritorious 
to  attack  and  plunder  every  nation  but  their  own  ;  and  such 
was  their  repugnance  to  a  Hfe  of  peace  that,  at  home  among 
themselves,  they  organized  reviews  and  tournaments  and  sham 
battles,  which  sometimes  ended  in  real  and  bloody  warfare.  \ 
Whatever  was  weak  or  helpless  they  despised  ;  and  while  wealth 
and  birth  were  respected  among  them,  they  recognised,  above 
all,  the  ascendancy  of  personal  prowess  and  daring  achievement. 
Their  own  country  was  poor,  it  abounded  in  forests  and  moun- 
tains, the  climate  was  severe,  the  hardships  of  life  were  many, 
and  as  the  population  increased  the  prospects  of  those  who 
remained  at  home  grew  less  attractive.  The  cautious,  the  timid, 
the  peace-loving  might  prefer  a  life  of  settled  industry  at  home, 
but  among  the  Northmen  the  spirit  of  adventure  was  strong, 
and  the  numbers  were  many,  who  willingly  and  even  eagerly 
abandoned  the  quietness  and  obscurity  of  their  native  fields 
for  the  life  of  the  freebooter,  for  the  hope  of  wealth  and  fame, 
and  the  exhiliration  of  battle.  Such  men  knew  no  fear.  Like 
the  Saxons  they  excelled  in  the  use  of  the  battle-axe  and  the  oar. 
With  the  sea  that  raged  round  their  coasts  they  were  familiar, 
they  knew  its  moods  ;  they  dreaded  not  its  wrath  ;  they  loved 
to  wander  over  its  broad  expanse  ;  and  found  a  fierce  delight  in 
wrestling  with  the  tempests  and  the  billows.  At  first  their 
depredations  were  confined  to  the  Baltic  and  its  neighbourhood, 
but  their  courage  advanced  with  their  success,  and  France  and 
Britain  and  Scotland  and  Ireland  were  successively  assailed. 
As  their  boats  were  light  and  drew  but  little  water,  they  could 
voyage  from  the  sea  far  up  the  creeks  and  rivers,  and  from  the 
shelter  of  the  river  banks  suddenly  swoop  down  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants and,  collecting  all  that  could  be  plundered,  rapidly  m.ake 
their  way  back  to  the  sea.  J  Those  who  resisted  they  killed,  or 
if  they  allowed  any  to  survive,  it  was  to  take  them  away  into 
slavery,  making  them  till  the  earth  ;  for  these  Vikings  disdained 
the  labours  of  agriculture,  as  fit  only  for  slaves  and  beneath 
the  dignity  of  warriors  and  freemen.    Among  their  deities,  Odin  || 

*  Mallet's  Northern  Antiquities  (Bohn's  Ed.),  p.  126. 

t  Ibid.,  p.    195. 

%  Gibbon,  Vol.  II.,  p.   139. 

II  Mallet,  pp.  79-83.  Among  the  Scandinavians  there  were  two  who 
bore  the  name  of  Odin,  and  they  are  sometimes  confounded,  one  with  the 
other  Odin,  the  supreme  deity,  whose  position  in  Scandinavian  mythology- 
is  akin  to  Jupiter  on  Olympus,  and  Odin,  a  warrior  and  lawgiver,  who 
fought  against  Pompey,  and  who  in  time  seems  to  have  been  treated  with 
divine  honours. 


THE   DANISH   INVASION,  8/ 

who  dwelt  in  Valhalla,  was  the  chief,  but  Thor,  the  God  of 
War,  who  slew  all  his  enemies  with  his  mighty  hammer, 
received  much  of  their  veneration.  These  gods  rewarded  most 
of  all  bravery  in  war,  and  hence  the  Northman  entered  into 
battle  with  a  light  heart.  If  he  survived,  his  valour  was  rewarded 
with  wealth  and  glory  and  slaves  to  minister  to  his  wants  ;  the 
Skalds  sung  his  praises,*  and  the  youth  were  directed  to  follow 
in  his  footsteps  ;  if  he  fell,  he  was  taken  at  once  by  Odin  into 
Valhalla,  where  only  warriors  were  worthy  to  go,  and  where 
his  time  was  spent  in  feasting  and  drinking  with  the  gods.f 

The  Irish  distinguished  these  Northmen  into  Fingals,  or 
white  strangers,  and  Duvgalls,  or  black  strangers,  the  former 
being  the  fair-haired  inhabitants  of  Norway,  whilst  the  com- 
plexion of  the  Duvgalls,  or  natives  of  Denmark,  was  of  a  darker 
tinge.  But  the  names  Northmen  and  Danes  are  indefinitely 
applied.  Those  who  went  from  Denmark  were  impelled  by  the 
same  motives  and  had  the  same  objects  in  view  as  those  who 
went  from  Norway.  They  were  animated  by  the  same  hopes 
and  fears  and  their  beliefs  were  similar.  Nor  were  the  Irish  able, 
at  all  times,  clearly  to  distinguish  between  the  Norsemen  and 
the  Danes,  for  though  they  sometimes  fought  among  themselves, 
they  were  not  infrequently  enrolled  under  the  same  Viking's 
banners. 

It  was  towards  the  close  of  the  eighth  century  that  Ireland 
was  first  ravaged  by  these  Northern  pirates.  They  had  landed 
at  Wessex  (787)  coming  in  only  three  ships  +  and  were  taken 
by  the  King's  officers  at  Dorchester  for  merchants.  They  had 
ravaged  Lindisfarne  and  Northumbria  (793),  plundered  Lambay 
Island,  near  Dublin  (795),  II  and  Innispatrick  near  Skerries  (798) 
taking  away  the  shrine  of  Saint  Dochona.  In  806  they  attacked 
lona,  overcame  the  monks,  who  could  offer  but  a  feeble  resistance, 
burned  the  monastic  buildings,  carried  away  the  gold  and  silver 
vessels  of  the  church,  and  in  addition  to  the  smoking  ruins  of 
the  venerable  monastery,  they  left  the  slaughtered  remains  of 
sixty-eight  monks  to  attest  the  fury  of  their  assault.**  In  the 
following  year  they  again  visited  the  Irish  coasts,  ravaged  Innish- 
mury,  off  the  coast  of  Sligo,  and  for  the  first  time  penetrated 
some  distance  inland,  and  laid  much  of  Roscommon  desolate. 
The  islands  off  the  coast  of  Kerry  were  plundered  (811)  and, 

*  Mallet,  p.  235. 

f  Ibid.,  p.  105.  The  Scandinavian  conception  of  supreme  bliss  either 
here  or  in  a  future  state  was  to  fight  and  to  eat  and  drink  to  excess. 

X  Ethhelwerd's  Chronicle  {Six  Old  English  Chronicle.) 

II  Four  Masters. 

**  Ibid.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  411  ;  only  64  of  the  monks  survived  this  attack 
(Lanigan,  Vol.  III.,  p.  241.) 


88  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

in  the  following  year,  the  district  of  Burrishoole,  in  Mayo,  was 
ravaged  and  numbers  of  its  people  slain.*  The  whole  line  of  coast 
from  Wexford  to  Cork  and  Kerry  was  swept  with  desolation 
(822).  Bergery  Island  in  Wexford  Harbour,  Cape  Clear  Island, 
Cork  and  Cloyne  being  among  the  places  that  suffered  most. 
On  the  desolate  island  of  Skellig,  off  the  coast  of  Kerry,  neither 
gold  nor  silver  could  be  found  to  gratify  their  rapacity  and  greed. 
An  anchoret  was  the  only  inhabitant  of  the  island  ;  he  fasted 
and  prayed  and  kept  lonely  vigil  on  that  desolate  rock,  while 
the  waves  thundered  at  its  base.  The  northern  pirates  landed, 
captured  the  anchoret,  and  allowed  him  to  die  of  starvation  on 
their  hands,  t  The  trembling  natives  along  the  coast  saw  with 
dismay  their  lands  laid  desolate,  their  homes  in  ruin,  their  cattle 
and  sheep  carried  off,  their  churches  burned,  their  sacred  vessels 
profaned  by  impious  hands,  their  monks  and  priests  massacred 
their  sons  led  away  into  slavery,  their  daughters  to  slavery  and 
dishonour.  It  were  little  wonder  if  they  thought  that  the  end 
of  all  things  was  at  hand.  Bangor  was  sacked  (824),  nine  hundred 
of  its  monks  murdered,  and  St.  Comgall's  shrine  carried  away. 
Dundalk  and  Moville  and  the  whole  district  of  Ossory  were 
laid  waste  the  same  year,  Lusk  monastery  was  ravaged  and 
destroyed  (826),  I  Donaghmoyne,  in  Monaghan,  (829)  ||  and 
neither  the  sanctity  nor  learning  of  St.  Adamnan  saved  his 
remains  from  outrage,  for  his  shrine  also  was  carried  away. 
Armagh,  Louth,  and  most  of  Ulster  were  plundered  (830), 
Armagh  being  plundered  three  times  in  the  course  of  one  month, 
A  permanent  colony  was  established  at  Limerick,  and  from  this 
central  stronghold  the  surrounding  territories  of  Munster  were 
assailed,  whilst  the  plunder  of  Lismore,  in  the  south,  and  Maghera 
in  the  north,  in  the  same  year,  attests  the  impartiality  and 
extent  of  their  depredations.  Hampered  by  the  divisions  among 
their  chiefs,  destitute  of  defensive  organisation,  ignorant  of  the 
time  and  place  of  attack  and  generally  taken  unaware,  the  Irish 
could  offer  but  an  ineffective  resistance.  Yet  the  foreigners 
were  sometimes  checked  and  even  defeated.  The  Munstermen 
defeated  them  (811)  off  the  coast  of  Kerry  ;  at  Hy  Kinsella  they 
were  again  defeated  (827),  and  a  combination  of  Munster  chiefs 
all  but  destroyed  the  Danes  of   Limerick   at  Shanagolden.*  * 

For  more  than  thirty  years  these  Northmen  had  harassed 
the  Irish  coasts.  Their  attacks  were  many,  but  so  far  were 
irregular  and   intermittent,  made  by  different  leaders,  without 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  Wars  of  the  Gael  and  Gall — Introduction,  p.   1%. 
X  Four  Masters.      Lanigan,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  270-71. 
II  Annals  of  Clonniacnoise. 

*  *  Four  Masters, 


THE   DANISH   INVASION.  89 

unity  of  purpose  or  design  and  as  yet,  though  there  was  much 
plunder,  there  was,  except  at  Limerick,  no  attempt  miade  at 
permanent  settlement.  But  in  832,  Turgesius,*  the  most  re- 
nowned of  their  Vikings,  appeared.  Some  obscurity  surrounds 
his  origin  and  exploits,  and  it  has  been  sought  to  identify  him 
with  Regnar  Lodbrog,  who  fought  and  fell  in  Northumbria. 
There  are  undoubtedly  points  of  resemblance,  if  not  of  identifi- 
cation. They  lived  during  the  same  years,  they  were  famous 
and  successful  Vikings,  each  was  put  to  death  by  his  Christian 
foes  ;  Turgesius  had  a  lord  deputy  named  Gormundus,  or  Gormo, 
and  Scandinavian  history  records  that  the  dominions  acquired 
by  the  sword  of  Regnar  were  for  a  time  ruled  by  a  chieftain  of 
that  name.  The  name  Turgesius  is  nothing  more  than  Thorgils 
latinised,  which  means  servant  of  Thor,  the  War  God  of  the 
North,  a  name  which  might  fittingly  be  applied  to  Regnar.  f 
If  the  identity  of  these  two  chiefs  be  established  then  we  must 
accept  the  legend  that  Regnar  died  in  Ireland  and  discard  that 
which  declares  that  he  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  by  King 
Ella  of  Northumberland  and  that  he  was  flung  into  a  dungeon 
filled  with  vipers  and  venomous  serpents,  who  stung  him  to 
death.  And  in  his  death-song  he  joyfully  accepted  his  fate  and 
smiled  with  pleasure  when  he  reflected  that  a  place  was  reserved 
for  him  in  the  halls  of  Odin,  and  that  soon  seated  there  at  the 
great  banquet  table  he  should  dring  flowing  draughts  of  beer 
from  cups  of  horn.|  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  Regnar  Lodbrog 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Turgesius  is  a  historical  personage  ;  there 
is  no  doubt  as  to  his  arrival  in  Ireland  ;  and  the  time  of  his  coming 
and  the  time  of  his  death  are  matters  of  certainty.  Equally 
ferocious  as  the  other  Norse  leaders  who  preceded  him,  he  enter- 
tained greater  designs,  and  had  greater  capacity  for  command. 
Tired  perhaps  of  the  cheerless  climate  and  barren  soil  of  Norway 
he  desired  a  land  with  a  more  genial  climate  and  more  fertile 
fields.  Like  the  other  Vikings  he  was  ever  ready  for  plunder, 
but  plunder  was  not  his  only  ambition,  and  apparently  he 
meditated  the  permanent  conquest  of  Ireland.  Nor  were  the 
times  unpropitious  for  his  designs.  The  northern  half  of  Ireland 
was  for  ages  the  patrimony  of  the  sons  of  Nial,  and  from  the 
kings  of  Meath,  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen  the  Ardris  were  alter- 
nately drawn.  This  arrangement  was  received  with  disfavour 
by  the  kings  of  Cashel  ;  their  homage  to  the  Ardris  was  given 
with  reluctance,  and  sometimes  they  claimed  to  be  Ardris  them- 
selves.     Fedlimy,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  ambitious  of  the 

*  Wars  of  the  Gael  and  Gall,  chap.  9,  and  introduction,  p.  43: 
t  Halliday  ;  Scandinavian  Kingdom  of  Dublin,  pp.  28  to  32. 
+  Thierry ;    History    of    the    Norman    Conquest    (Bogue's     European 
Library),  Vol.  I,  p.  61. 


90  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

southern  princes,  now  filled  the  throne  of  Cashel.  Too  great 
to  be  a  subject,  unwilling  to  acknowledge  a  superior,  or  even 
an  equal,  he  could  see  no  reason  why  a  king  of  Cashel  should 
not  also  be  King  of  Ireland.  If  he  was,  as  is  sometimes  said,  a 
bishop,*  as  well  as  king,  his  virtues  were  not  those  which  befit 
the  episcopacy.  He  was  careful  to  make  his  religion  subservient 
to  his  ambition,  and  had  little  scruple  as  to  the  means  he  employed 
in  the  attainment  of  his  ends.  Three  times  in  quick  succession 
he  plundered  Clonmacnoise,  and  on  one  of  these  occasions  (833) 
he  spoiled  and  pillaged  up  to  the  church  doorsf  and  "  butchered 
the  monks  like  sheep."  The  monasteries  of  Durrow  and  Kildare 
he  also  plundered,  and  from  the  fears  and  impotence  of  Foranen, 
the  Primate  of  Armagh,  then  an  exile  at  Kildare,  +  he  extracted 
submission  and  homage.  He  overran  Meath  and  Bregia  (839), 
and  then  rested  at  Tara,  in  the  ruined  palace  of  the  ancient 
kings.  Sometimes  he  is  counted  among  the  ardris,  although  he 
was  never  universally  recognised.  Concurrently  with  these 
events,  disputes  arose  between  rival  claimants  for  the  See  of 
Armagh  ;  the  native  princes  took  sides  and  these  contests  were 
no  less  bitter  than  those  between  Fedlimy  and   his   antagonists.]! 

But  while  the  native  princes  were  thus  divided,  the  whole 
forces  of  the  Northmen,  latterly  much  augmented,  ranged  them- 
selves under  the  able  leadership  of  Turgesius.-  In  their  ships 
some  sailed  up  the  Shannon  and  cast  anchor  at  Lough  Ree,  some 
remained  at  Limerick,  some  in  Carlingford  Bay,  some  at  Dundalk, 
some  at  Lough  Neagh  ;  and  while  sixty  ships  were  on  the  Boyne, 
sixty  others  were  on  the  Liffey.**  From  these  vessels  they  sallied 
forth  and  harassed  the  surrounding  country.  They  plundered 
Clondalkin  (833),  Glendalough  and  Slane  and  the  churches  of 
Ormond  (834),  all  Connaught  (835),  the  Kingdom  of  Meath 
and  the  churches  of  Lough  Erne  and  Inniscaltra  (836).  Dublin 
was  captured  in  the  same  year.  Ulster  was  harassed  and  Armagh 
plundered  (838),  and  Clonmacnoise  and  Clonfert  and  Lorrha 
and  Tirdaglass  were  burned  (841). 

The  monasteries  everywhere  were  the  first  objects  of  attack. 
Here  were  the  gold  and  silver  vessels  used  in  the  service  of  the 
church  :  here  were  the  shrines  of  the  saints,  and  here  also 
was  consigned  for  safe-keeping  the  wealth  of  many,  knowing 
that  the  monasteries  were  respected  by  the  most  lawless  of  the 
Irish,  even  in  these  lawless  days.  This  wealth  attracted  the 
Northmen,  for  their  desire  of  gain  was  insatiable.       Added   to 

*  Wars  of  Gael  and  Gall;  Todd's  Introduction,  p.  45. 
t  Healy,  p.   275. 

+  Four  Masters. 

li  Gael    and    Gall — Introduction,    pp.    46-7.     Four    Masters  at  851. 

*  *  Four  Masters. 


THE   DANISH   INVASION.  9 1 

this  was  their  fierce  heathen  fanaticism.  They  remembered 
with  bitterness  all  that  their  religion  had  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  Charlemagne — how  the  Saxon  followers  of  Odin  had  been 
driven  from  their  homes  or  murdered,  and  how  all  this  had 
been  done  in  the  name  of  Christianity.*  The  time  for  revenge 
had  come.  In  dishonoring  Christ  and  his  Church,  they  felt 
they  were  honoring  their  pagan  gods,  and  in  the  name  of  Odin 
they  massacred  the  priests  and  monks,  desecrated  the  churches, 
and  laid  so  many  monasteries  in  ruins.  Turgesius  had  the 
Primate  of  Armagh  turned  out  of  his  See,  and,  in  imitation, 
or  perhaps  in  mockery,  became  himself  chief  of  the  priests  of 
Odin,  at  Armagh  ;  and  his  wife  gave  audience  seated  on  the 
high  altar  of  Clonmacnoise.f  Verily,  it  seemed  that  the  abomina- 
tion of  desolation  had  entered  the  holy  places,  and  that,  in  Ireland 
at  least,  the  vision  of  the  prophet  had  been  realised. 

Keating  J  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  miseries  suffered 
by  the  Irish  during  the  domination  of  Turgesius,  and  if  all  of 
it  be  true,  the  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise  do  not  exaggerate  when 
they  compare  their  condition  to  that  of  the  Christians  under 
the  Turks. II  Every  cantred  had  its  Danish  ruler,  every  village 
its  Danish  sergeant,  in  every  house  a  Danish  soldier  was  billetted 
who  acted  in  that  house  as  absolute  master.  If  the  family  had 
money  it  was  taken,  if  they  had  good  clothes  they  were  seized 
and  worn  by  the  Danish  soldier  if  they  had  fowl  they  were 
eaten  by  him,  if  they  had  but  one  cow  he  used  its  milk,  and  he 
heeded  neither  the  wants  of  the  sick,  nor  the  cries  of  the  little 
children.  If  the  family  had  arms  they  were  seized,  if  they  had 
books  they  were  torn  or  burned,  and  they  were  not  allowed  to 
entertain  others  or  to  be  entertained  themselves.**  A  yearly 
tribute  of  an  ounce  of  gold  was  paid  by  each  house,  and  if  the 
head  of  the  family  failed  to  pay,  his  nose  was  cut  off,  whence 
the  tax  was  called  the  nosegelt.  This  has  been  explained  by  saying 
that  each  person  had  to  pay  taxes — that  counting  noses  and 
counting  numbers  were  the  same,!  j  but  even  such  savagery 
as  cutting  off  people's  noses  might  be  expected  from  the  Danes 
if  their  record  in  other  lands  be  remembered.  To  this  intolerable 
oppression,  resistance  was  offered  by  the  natives  and  sometimes 
with  success.  The  Kinnellconnell  defeated  them  at  Bally- 
shannon  Xi  (836),  the  Dalcassians  at  Lough  Derg,  but  the  progress 

*  Halliday,    pp.  6,  7,  8. 

t  Wars  of  the  Gael  and  Gall ;  Introduction,  pp.  48-9. 

X  p.  426 

II  p    134.     He  declares  that  "the  great  Tamerlane,  called  the  Scourge 
of  God,  could  not  be  compared  to  them  for  cruelty." 

*  *  Keating,    p.    426. 

t  t  Wars  of  the  Gael  and  Gall ,  Introduction,  p.  103,  note  3. 
+  +  Ibid.,  chap.-  21  and  22,  p.  21. 


92  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

of  Turgesius  was  steady  and  persistent,  and,  in  845,  the  northern 
portion  of  the  country,  as  well  as  Meath  and  Connaught,  lay 
helpless  at  his  feet.  A  little  more  and  the  whole  country  would 
be  conquered,  but,  in  845,  his  career  of  conquest  ended,  for  in 
that  year  he  was  defeated  by  Malachy,  King  of  Meath,  taken 
prisoner  and  put  to  death.  It  is  said  he  was  drowned  at  Lough 
Ennell,  near  Mullingar.  Keating's  account  of  how  he  was 
captured  is  not  without  interest.  Turgesius  had  built  a  palace 
near  the  residence  of  Maelsachlin,  King  of  Meath,  and  sometimes 
visited  him  :  and,  on  one  of  these  occasions,  he  saw  and  became 
enamoured  of  Maelsachlin's  daughter,  whose  appearance  and 
manner  were  equally  attractive.  As  he  was  already  married 
he  could  not  demand  her  in  marriage,  nor  did  he  desire  to  pay 
her  that  honor,  but  merely  wished  to  have  her  as  one  of  his 
mistresses.  The  lady's  father  knew  it  would  be  dangerous  to 
refuse,  and  agreed,  with  apparent  readiness  and  goodwill,  but 
stipulated  that  his  daughter  should  be  sent  privately  to  the 
Danish  palace,  so  as  to  save  appearances  and  lest  the  lady's 
character  might  suffer.  He  even  promised  that  he  would  send 
with  her  fifteen  other  beautiful  maidens  whom  Turgesius  might 
also  keep.  At  the  appointed  time  the  lady  and  her  attendants 
arrived,  and  were  received  by  Turgesius  and  fifteen  of  his  minis- 
ters and  favourites,  and  an  entertainment  was  prepared.  But 
the  attendants  sent  with  the  princess,  instead  of  being  young 
women,  were  all  young  men  of  handsome  appearance,  disguised 
as  females  and  wearing  arms  under  their  female  attire.  Instead 
of  allowing  their  young  mistress  to  be  outraged  by  a  hated  pagan, 
at  a  given  signal,  they  rushed  upon  him,  slew  all  his  favourites, 
and  carried  himself  away  into  captivity.* 

The  death  of  Turgesius  revived  the  drooping  spirits  of  the 
natives,  and  when  Malachy,  or  Maelsachlin,  became  Ardri  (846) 
he  vigorously  attacked  the  invaders  and  was  ably  seconded 
by  some  of  the  provincial  chiefs.  The  Danes  were  defeated  in 
Westmeath  (848),  losing  700  in  battle,  in  Tipperary  they  lost 
240,  at  Balrothery  (850),  200,  at  Rathallen,  near  Duleek,  300  ; 
they  were  also  defeated  at  Rathcommair  in  Meath  by  Malachy.  f 
They  were  much  weakened  and  discouraged  by  their  losses  and 
abandoned  several  of  their  conquests.  These  various  battles 
were  fought  principally  with  the  Fingalls  or  Norwegians  ;  but 
a  large  fleet  of  the  Duvgalls  arrived  in  Dublin  (853).  Instead 
of  joining  with  the  Fingalls  for  the  complete  subjugation  of 
Ireland,  the  two  nations  quarrelled,  and  a  desperate  naval  battle 
was    fought  at   Carlingford   Bay,   which   lasted   for   three    days 

*  Keating,  pp.  428-32. 

I    Gael  and   Gall,  chap.  22s     Four  Mastersi 


THE   DANISH    INVASION.  93 

and  ended  in  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  Fingalls.  A  few- 
years  previously  the  Northmen  had  built  a  fortress  at  Athcliath 
or  Dublin.  The  conquerors  at  Carlingford  Bay,  attracted  by 
the  advantageous  position,  took  possession  of  the  fortress,  and 
established  the  Kingdom  of  Dublin,  with  Olaf  the  White  as  their 
King.*  To  the  Irish  the  change  from  Fingalls  to  Dubhgalls 
was  merely  one  of  name,  for  both  were  equally  ferocious  and 
equally  greedy  of  plunder.  Olaf  soon  issued  from  Dublin  and 
plundered  Leinster  and  Munster,  and  they  left  nothing  from 
Limerick  to  Cork  that  they  did  not  ravage.  They  were  not, 
however,  so  constantly  successful  as  Turgesius  and  Aedh  (863-79), 
the  Ardri,  who  succeeded  Malachy,  inflicted  upon  them  two 
serious  defeats  at  Lough  Foyle  (867)  and  at  Kilmore,  near 
Drogheda  (869),  besides  the  battle  of  Kiladerry  in  Dublin  (866).t 
During  the  whole  reign  of  Flan  (879-915)  there  were  no 
further  arrivals  of  Northmen.  In  Dublin  and  along  the  coast 
the  Danes  were  in  permanent  occupation,  and  were  engaged 
for  the  most  part  in  commerce,  but  for  fresh  settlers  the  induce- 
ments to  come  were  few.  These  Northmen  desired  the  glory 
of  victory  and  the  wealth  that  is  obtained  by  successful  war. 
Had  they  come  in  strong  force,  and  fought  under  a  single  leader 
such  as  Turgesius,  they  would,  no  doubt,  have  conquered  the 
whole  country,  but  coming  at  difterent  times  and  under  different 
leaders  the  resistance  offered  them  was  more  effective,  and  the 
battles  fought  at  Lough  Foyle  and  Drogheda  and  elsewhere 
warned  them  that  other  contests  also  might  end  in  defeat.  Nor 
could  victory  itself  bring  them  the  wealth  that  they  desired. 
The  vessels  of  gold  and  silver  were  long  since  taken  from  the 
churches,  the  shrines  of  the  saints  were  broken  open,  the 
monasteries  were  but  sightless  ruins,  the  inhabitants  had  been 
so  often  plundered  that  nothing  remained  to  them  but  poverty 
and  desolation,  and  from  these  possessions  wealth  could  not  be 
extracted.  For  other  reasons,  too,  no  fresh  bands  of  Northmen 
appeared  during  this  period.  In  the  closing  years  of  the  ninth 
century,  Harold  Harfagher,  or  the  fair-haired,  became  supreme 
King  of  Norway. ;|:  Originally  ruling  but  portion  of  that  country, 
he  determined  to  extend  his  sway  and  consolidate  the  various 
small  states — weak,  lawless  and  turbulent — into  one  powerful 
kingdom.  To  vanquish  these  warlike  Vikings  was  not  an  easy 
task,  but  by  patience  and  perseverance  and  superior  military 
skill  he  prevailed.  The  defeated  chiefs  fought  as  long  as  it 
was  possible,  and  then  sullenly  and  reluctantly  submitted.  But 
old  habits  are  not  easily  laid  aside  ;    they  could  not  reconcile 

*  Halliday,  p.  23. 

f  Four  Masters^ 

X  Thierry  ;  Vol.  I.,  p.  90. 


94  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

themselves  to  a  life  of  law  and  settled  government  ;  they  loved 
war  and  piracy,  and  against  the  new  king  and  his  government 
they  often  rebelled.  Driven  into  exile  they  founded  settlements 
in  the  islands  of  the  North  Sea,  fitted  up  expeditions,  attacked 
passing  vessels,  and  harassed  the  coasts  of  Norway  itself,  inflicting 
much  damage  on  the  inhabitants.  Harold  determined  to  chastise 
them  ;  with  his  fleet  he  pursued  them  even  to  the  Orkneys 
and  the  Hebrides  ;  and  many  a  bold  Viking,  who  might  look 
forward  to  the  wealth  and  luxury  of  a  more  southern  land, 
had  his  fleet  scattered,  his  vessels  sunk,  and  himself  sent  pre- 
maturely to  Valhalla,  to  be  entertained  with  Odin  and  his  gods. 
Those  who  escaped,  or  did  not  incur  the  wrath  of  Harold  turned 
their  thoughts  to  the  coasts  of  France,  where  tempting  prospects 
of  plunder  and  conquest  awaited  them.  The  grandsons  of 
Charlemagne  shared  between  them  the  splendid  inheritance  of 
his  Empire,  but  they  did  not  inherit  his  genius  to  rule,  or  defend 
what  they  possessed  ;  and  while  they  were  quarrelling  among 
themselves,  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  Norse  Vikings,  Rollo, 
descended  upon  the  French  coasts,  sailed  up  the  Seine,  captured 
Rouen,  laid  siege  to  Paris,  and  repeatedly  plundered  the  sur- 
rounding territory.  Prompted  by  policy  and  fear,  Charles  the 
Simple  made  peace  with  Rollo,  gave  him  the  Duchy  of  Normandy 
and  his  daughter  in  marriage,  and  thus  changed  a  fierce  antago- 
nist into  the  greatest  bulwark  of  his  throne.*  Others  of  these 
Northmen  plundered  Brittany  and  even  Italy  ;  and  in  England 
they  were  firmly  planted  in  Mercia,  East  Anglia  and  North- 
umbria. 

It  might  have  been  thought  that  this  period  of  repose  from 
Danish  invasion  would  have  been  used  by  the  Irish  to  repair 
the  ravages  of  war,  and  to  organise  their  forces  against  future 
attack.  But  the  time  was  spent  otherwise.  The  thoughts  of 
each  clan  were  centred  in  itself.  A  neighbouring  clan  it  regarded 
with  jealousy,  viewed  its  increasing  power  with  alarm,  its 
influence  with  envy,  its  wealth  with  cupidity  and  its  misfortunes 
without  regret.  A  century  of  Danish  incursions  had  not  yet 
taught  these  clansmen  the  advantages  of  combination,  nor  the 
evils  of  dissension,  nor  the  necessity  of  unity.  The  Danes  were 
aliens  in  race  and  creed,  they  had  suffered  untold  miseries  at 
their  hands,  they  felt  they  could  have  no  security  until  the  Danes 
were  beaten.  Being  Irish,  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  they 
were  brave  and  did  not  shrink  from  fighting,  but  they  fought 
as  men  of  Meath,  or  Tirowen,  men  of  Desmond  or  Thomond. 
They  did  not  realise  that  they  were  all  men  of  Erin  and  had  a 
common  inheritance  to  defend.  It  was  local  interests  alone  they 
rega.rded,  local   jealousies   that  actuated   them,  and   when   they 

-*  Thierryj  Vol.  I.5  pp.  94-7; 


THE   DANISH   INVASION.  95 

no  longer  had  swarms  of  Northmen  to  combat,  they  turned 
their  arms  against  each  other  ;  and  instead  of  the  period  (879- 
915)  being  one  of  peace  and  preparation,  it  was  a  period  of  disas- 
trous internal  discord.  Because  the  title  of  the  Ardri  was  not 
fully  and  freely  recognised  in  Munster,  in  revenge,  he  made  war 
upon  that  province  and  plundered  it  from  Kildare  to  Cork  ; 
Tirowen  and  Tirconnell  he  treated  similarly.*  The  Kinnell 
Owen  and  the  rest  of  Ulster  were  at  war  (892)  f  ;  as  if  weary 
of  peace  the  Ardri  overran  Connaught  (895)  and  a  little  later 
(898)  the  Connaughtmen  were  at  war  with  Meath,|  and  Ossory 
was  attacked  by  the  Deisi.  Again,  on  some  pretext,  the  Ardri 
and  the  King  of  Leinster,  in  alliance,  invaded  Munster  (906), || 
and  plundered  it  from  Gowran  to  Limerick.  The  reigning 
King  of  Cashel  was  Cormac,  who  was  also  a  bishop.  Collecting 
his  forces,  he  attacked  the  Ardri  and  his  ally,  and  at  Moylena 
inflicted  upon  them  well-merited  defeat,  and  the  same  year  he 
defeated  the  forces  of  Meath  and  Connaught  by  whom  he  had 
been  assailed.  Satisfied  at  having  repelled  all  his  assailants,  he 
looked  forward  to  a  long  period  of  peace,  for  his  ambition  was 
that  of  the  scholar*  *  rather  than  the  warrior.  But  his  chief 
adviser  was  Flaherty,  abbot  of  Scattery  Island,  to  whom  the 
seclusion  of  a  monastery  was  less  agreeable  than  the  excitement 
of  the  camp  and  the  battlefield  ;  and  his  advice  to  Cormac  was 
to  demand  tribute  of  Leinster,  and,  following  in  the  footsteps  of 
Fedlimy,  to  claim  that  he  was  Ardri.  With  a  large  army  he  entered 
Leinster,  and  at  Ballaghmoon,  near  Carlow,  he  was  met  by  the 
combined  forces  of  the  Ardri  and  the  Kings  of  Leinster  and 
Connaught.  Munster  was  defeated  with  the  loss  of  6000  men, 
Cormac  himself  being  among  the  slain. 

During  these  years  of  internal  discord,  the  Danish  colonies 
at  Dublin,  Waterford,  and  Limerick  were  not  idle.  They  were 
engaged  principally  in  commerce,  but  old  habits  are  not  easily 
laid  aside,  the  traditionary  instinct  of  the  Dane  was  to  plunder, 
and  beneath  the  merchant's  garb  the  pirate  could  be  discerned. 
Taking  advantage  of  native  divisions,  they  sometimes  sallied  forth 
from  their  strongholds  and  committed  their  usual  depredations. 
In  native  disputes  their  aid  was  often  sought,  for  with  the  Irish 
chiefs  the  passion  of  revenge  had  consumed  all  other  passions, 
and  to  defeat  their  own  countrymen  they  welcomed  the  aid 
of  the  pagan  and  the  pirate.     The  son  of  Olaf  the  White,  King 

*  Four  Masiers. 
t  Ibid.,  p.   543,  note. 
:  Ibid.,  p.  553. 

II  Annals  of  Ulster  :  the  Four  Masters  give  the  date  902. 
**  He  was  author  of  Cormac's  Glossary,  vid.  Four  Masters,  Vol.  II.,  p. 
569 — note. 


96  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

of  Dublin,  by  name  Thorsten  the  Red,  had  married  a  grand- 
daughter of  Carroll,  King  of  Ossory,*  and  when  Olaf,  with 
his  friend  and  ally  Ivar,  the  son  of  Regnar  Lodbrog,  were  engaged 
in  conquering  East  Anglia  and  Northumbria  (866-7)  and  plun- 
dering Scotland  (870)!  Carrol  was  put  in  possession  of  Dublin, 
to  hold  it  for  the  Danes  and  to  defend  it  against  native  assaults. 
Olaf  returned  to  Ireland  from  Scotland  (870),  bringing  with 
him  great  booty,  but  the  following  year  he  was  slain  in  battle, 
and  a  year  later  Ivar  died.;]:  Ivar's  brother — Halfdene — assuming 
command  continued  his  wars  in  Northumbria  and  Mercia,  and 
was  able,  in  addition,  to  plunder  the  Picts  and  Britons  of  Strath- 
clyde  ;  nor  was  it  until  876  that  he  resolved  to  return  to  Ireland, 
and  claim  the  kingdom  which  the  good  sword  of  Olaf  had  won. 
But  the  old  quarrels  between  the  Fingalls  and  Duvgalls  were 
revived  ;  the  Fingalls,  resenting  the  rule  of  Halfdene,  revolted, 
and  in  a  naval  battle  at  Strangford  Lough,  in  which  the  White 
Strangers  and  the  Black  Strangers  contended  for  supremacy, 
Halfdene  was  slain.  |1  This  series  of  fatalities  among  the  Danish 
leaders,  added  to  the  necessity  of  guarding  their  possessions  in 
England,  left  Dublin  almost  forgotten — until  Carroll,  who  was 
merely  the  ally  and  representative  of  the  Danish  kings,  became 
King  of  Dublin  himself,**  a  position  he  held  till  his  death  (885), 
when  Sitric,  the  son  of  Ivar,  came  to  Dublin  and  became  king. 
But  Carroll,  when  he  reigned,  was  King  of  Dublin  by  favour  of 
the  Danes,  he  was  their  ally  and  friend,  he  defended  Dublin  by 
their  arms  and  with  the  same  readiness  as  themselves,  he  allowed 
them  to  plunder  the  Irish,  and  even  led  them  to  plunder  ;  and 
under  Sitric  the  war  and  plunder  were  continued.  The  Danes 
plundered  Kildare  f  t  (885),  defeated  the  Ardri  t  J  (887),  burned 
Glendalough  li  II  (889),  Kildare***  (890),  Armagh  f  1 1  (894), 
and  allying  themselves  with  the  Deisi  (893)  they  overran  Ossory. 
These  depredations  did  not  pass  unavenged.  The  Limerick 
Danes  were  defeated  (887),  and  again  four  years  later  ;  in  Wex- 
ford, Waterford  and  Connaught  the  Danes  were  also  defeated;  HI 
Olaf  of  Dublin  was  beaten  (895),  and  800  of  his  army  slain  ;  |l  ||  ll 

*  Wars  of  the  Gael  and  Gall,  p.  264.       Appendix  D; 

t  Halliday,  pp.  36-38. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  40. 

y  Ibid.,  pp.  43-44. 

**  Ibid.,  p.  45. 

tt  Four  Masters,  883.      Annals  of  Ulster,  885; 

XX  Ibid.,  at  year  885. 

nil  Ibid.,   886. 

***  Ibid.,  887. 

ttt  Ibid.,  893. 

XXX  Ibid.,  at  888. 

mill  Ibid.,  at  891. 


THE   DANISH   INVASION.  97 

but  the  most  important  victory  was  the  capture  of  Dublin* 
(901)  by  the  Leinstermen.  The  Danes  were  expelled  from  the 
city,  and  for  the  remainder  of  Flan's  reign,  the  most  valued 
possession  of  the  Irish  Danes  was  in  native  hands. 

In  the  same  year  that  Nial  GlundufY  became  Ardri  (915), 
fresh  swarms  of  Northmen  appeared.  Regnal  landed  at  Waterford 
and  joined  those  who  had  arrived  there  in  912,  and  under  his 
leadership  Munster  was  ravaged.  The  Ardri  with  his  army 
marched  south,  and  encountered  the  Danes  at  a  place  called 
Tober  Glethrach  (915),  the  battle  being  indecisive.  In  the  follow- 
ing year,  Sitric  landed  at  Dublin,  captured  the  city,  and  defeated 
the  Leinstermen  at  Cen  Fuat,  and  then  plundered  Kildare.f 
During  his  absence  in  England,  the  Ardri  attempted  the  capture 
of  the  cit^''  and  appears  to  have  been  quite  confident  of  success. 
But  his  confidence  was  misplaced,  the  sons  of  Sitric  and  Reginald, 
not  content  with  acting  on  the  defensive,  boldly  issued  from 
the  walls,  met  and  defeated  the  Ardri,  Nial,  at  Kilmashoge 
near  Rathfarnham.  The  Ardri  himself  was  killed,  so  also  were 
several  princes,  and  such  was  the  loss  sustained  that  the  bards 
sang  of  that  day  "  The  destructive  morn  of  Athcliath  "  X 
Armagh  was  plundered  (92I),  Dublin  and  Waterford  were 
unassailable  Danish  strongholds,  but  it  was  at  Limerick 
that      Danish     power     was     most     difificult      to      be     borne. 

The  Danish  leader  was  Tomar,  whose  character  and  exploits 
recall  the  memory  of  Turgesius.  From  Limerick  he  despatched 
a  fleet  up  the  Shannon,  plundered  Clonmacnoise  and  the  religious 
establishments  at  Lough  Ree ;  and  along  the  Shannon  the 
inhabitants  were  ground  down  with  every  form  of  oppression. 
Their  condition  is  described  by  Macliag  in  his  Wars  of  the 
Gael  and  Gall.  |!  "  They  killed  the  kings  and  the  chieftains, 
the  heirs  to  the  crown  and  the  royal  princes  of  Erin.  They 
killed  the  brave  and  the  valiant  and  the  stout  knights,champions 
and  soldiers  and  young  lords  and  the  greater  part  of  the  heroes 
and  warriors  of  the  entire  Gael  ;  and  they  brought  them  under 
tribute  and  servitude  ;  they  reduced  them  to  bondage  and  slavery. 
Many  were  the  blooming  women  and  comely  maidens  and 
blue-eyed  young  women  and  well  brought  up  youths  and  valiant 
champions  they  carried  into  bondage  over  the  broad,  green  sea. 
Alas,  many  and  frequent  were  the  bright  and  brilliant  eyes 
that  were  suffused  with  tears  and  dimmed  with  grief  and  despair 
at  the  separation  of  son  from  father  and  daughter  from  mother 

*  Wars  of  Gael  and  Gall;  Todd's  Introduction,  p.  82.  Four  Masters^ 
897. 

t  Halliday,-  p.    56. 
+  Halliday,  pp.   58-g. 
II  Chapter  36,  p.  43. 


q8  history   of    IRELAND. 

and  brother  from  brother,  and  relatives  from  their  race  ana 
tribe."  Yet  these  Danes  were  sometimes  defeated,  and  from  out 
the  gloom  of  such  widespread  disaster  one  heroic  figure  appeared, 
whose  example  must  have  had  an  inspiriting  effect  on  his  country 
men.  This  was  Muirchertach,  son  of  Nial  Glunduff.  His  father 
had  fallen  in  battle  with  the  Danes — the  battle  of  Kilmashoge 
— and  he  seems  to  have  sworn  that  his  father's  death  would  be 
avenged.  With  his  own  forces  of  Tirowen  he  fought  the  Danes 
for  twenty  years,  inflicting  on  them  many  defeats,  and  died 
(943),  falling  at  the  battle  of  Ardee,  in  which  the  Danes,  under 
Blacar,  were  victors.*  Muirchertach  was  heir  to  the  Ardri's 
throne  and,  to  ensure  recognition  of  his  rights,  he  had  made  a 
circuit  of  Ireland,  taking  hostages  as  he  went  along.f  His  journey 
was  made  in  winter,  and  to  protect  his  troops  from  the  cold  he 
had  them  clothed  in  leather  coats,  whence  he  has  been  called 
Muirchertach  of  the  Leather  Coats.  The  new  Ardri,  Congalach, 
defeated  the  Danes  (944)  +  at  Dublin,  and  even  carried  away 
most  of  the  inhabitants  into  captivity,  and  a  few  years  later 
(948),!!  he  also  defeated  them  with  heavy  loss,  their  leader  Blacar 
being  among  the  slain.  He  again  defeated  them  at  Muine  Brecain 
(95 1),  but  in  956*  *  the  Ardri  was  defeated  and  slain  by  the  Danes 
aided  by  the  Leinstermen.  During  the  whole  reign  of  Donal 
(956-80)  only  one  great  battle  was  fought — that  of  Kilmore  in 
Meath,  in  which  the  Danes  were  victorious,  but  with  the  accession 
of  Malachy  H.  greater  events  were  at  hand. 

Either  from  policy  or  conviction,  the  Dublin  Danes  had 
now  become  Christians  and  had  made  alliances  in  marriage 
with  some  of  the  Irish,  but  the  Christian  prohibition  not  to  rob 
or  steal  they  little  understood,  or  at  least  little  observed.  As 
Christians,  they  made  war  as  readily  and  with  as  little  justifica- 
tion as  when  they  were  yet  pagans,  and  had  as  little  scruple 
about  sacking  a  monastery  or  church,  as  when  they  marched 
under  the  banners  of  Odin.  Malachy  determined  to  chastise 
them,  and  the  very  year  he  became  Ardri  (980)  he  defeated 
them  at  Tara,tt  where  Regnall,  son  of  Olaf,  King  of  Dublin, 
was  killed.  With  a  heavy  heart,  as  if  he  foresaw  the  ruin  of  his 
dynasty,  Olaf  resigned  the  crown  to  his  son  Sitric,  and  went 
on  a  pilgrimage  to  lona.  In  that  venerable  monastery,  so  often 
laid  in  ruins  by  his  kinsmen,  he  spent  the  closing  years  of  his 

*  Four  Masters  at  94 1 . 

•j-  Halliday,  p.  72.      It  appears  among  the  hostages  was  the  son  of 
Sitric,  the  Danish  King  of  Dublin. 
J  Four  Masters  at  942. 
11  Ibid,  946. 
*•  Ibid,  954. 
tt    Four  Masters  at  979. 


THE  DANISH   INVASION.  99 

life,and  there  also  he  died,*  consoled  by  the  children  of  St.Columbas. 
Malachy  followed  up  his  successes  at  Tara  by  attacking  and 
capturing  the  city  of  Dublin.  He  allowed  the  Danes  to  remain, 
but  compelled  them  to  pay  tribute,  and  to  release  all  their  captives 
amounting  to  two  thousand  and  including  Donal,  King  of 
Leinster.  f  He  proclaimed  that  everyone  of  the  Gael  in  captivity 
with  the  foreigners  was  free  to  go  to  his  own  territory.  Their 
captivity  and  the  hardships  it  entailed  has  been  compared  to 
that  more  famous  one  of  Babylon  ;  in  the  vigorous  language 
of  the  Fotir  Masters  it  was  "  next  to  the  captivity  of  hell."  With 
singular  ingratitude  the  Leinster  King  was  no  sooner  free  from 
Danish  bonds  than  he  allied  himself  with  the  Danes  and  turned 
his  arms  against  his  deliverer  ;  but  Malachy  crushed  this  con- 
federacy and  overran  Leinster  (983).  +  He  established  his 
authority  in  Connaught  (985),||  and  twice  (989  and  996),  he 
suppressed  revolts  in  Dublin  and  compelled  that  city  to  pay 
him  tribute.  On  the  last  of  these  occasions  he  took  away  the 
sword  and  collar  of  Tomar,  relics  much  prized  by  the  Danes,  and 
afterwards  Malachy  wore  this  golden  collar  himself.**  The 
panegyrists  of  Brian  Boru,  who  had  already  become  all-powerful 
in  Munster,  and  was  destined  to  become  more  powerful  still, 
do  not  wish  to  admit  that  he  was  ever  defeated  by  Malachy. 
But  this  is  to  ignore,  or  to  suppress,  historic  facts.ff  Malachy 
defeated  him  in  Thomond  (990),  in  Connaught  (992),  and  again 
(996)  in  Tipperary.  Menaced  by  a  new  and  powerful  coalition 
— the  Danes  of  Dublin  and  Maelmorra,  King  of  Leinster — 
these  two  chiefs,  Malachy  and  Brian,  laying  aside  their  personal 
jealousies,  joined  against  the  common  enemy,  and  at  the  battle 
of   Glenmama  (999)  they  fought  side  by  side. 

The  saying  has  been  attributed  to  Alexander  the  Great  that 
the  world  cannot  be  ruled  by  two  suns,  nor  can  it  contain  two 
empires  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  without  disturbing  the  peace 
of  nations  ||{{ ;  and  with  Malachy  and  Brian,  each  supreme  in 
his  own  province,  each  without  a  superior  or  a  rival,  it  seemed 
impossible  that  the  peace  of  Ireland  could  be  secured.  Malachy's 
career  was  hitherto  an  unbroken  series  of  triumphs,  and  Brian, 
though  sometimes  repulsed,  was  usually  victorious  and  never 
suffered  a  serious  reverse.      His  power  had  grown  steadily,  and, 

*  The  year  of  his  death  is  uncertain,  and  one  of  the  Sagas  asserts 
that  he  was  in  Dublin  in  994.     (Hallidayj  pp.  79-80.) 
•j"  Gael  and  Gaily  p.  47. 
X  Four  Masters. 
II  Ibid,  984. 

**  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p    733.     Note 
■ft    Gael  and  Gall;  Todd's  IntroductioHj  p.   142. 
(Ill    Quintus  Curiius,  Lib.  IV.,  Chap.  II. 


lOO  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

from  being  merely  chief  of  the  Dalcassians,  he  had  become 
unquestioned  monarch  of  Munster,  and  the  most  powerful  and 
ablest  ruler  that  Munster  had  ever  known.  Perhaps,  for  the 
sake  of  peace,  more  probably  because  of  his  impotence,  Malachy 
had  already,  by  treaty,  recognised  Brian  as  king  of  the  southern 
half  of  Ireland,  thus  partially  abdicating  and  no  longer  demanding 
from  Leath  Moha  either  tribute  or  submission.  All  this  did  not 
satisfy  Brian  ;  he  was  ambitious  and,  having  rid  himself  of  a 
superior,  he  could  no  longer  tolerate  an  equal.  With  Sitric 
and  the  Danes  and  with  Maelmorra  of  Leinster,  whom  he  had 
lately  fought,  he  made  alliances,  and,  strengthened  by  these, 
without  warning,  and  in  the  teeth  of  his  treaty  with  Malachy, 
he  entered  Meath  and  set  up  his  headquarters  at  Tara.  Deserted 
by  his  kinsmen  in  the  north,  Malachy  with  his  own  forces  of 
Meath  felt  unable  to  make  headway  against  so  many  enemies 
and  acknowledged  Brian  as  Ardri.  Thus  did  the  sceptre  pass 
from  the  descendants  of  the  great  Nial,  after  an  interval  of  nearly 
six  centuries;  and  without  doubt,  Malachy,  from  whose  hands 
it  passed,  was  one  of  the  greatest  of  that  royal  line. 


<»  ^.J^ 

-^^ 
•S'^" 


<>i 


CHAPTER    IX. 

The  Dalcassian  Kings. 

Ireland  divided  in  the  second  century  between  Conn  of  the  Hundred 
Battles  and  Owen  More  into  Leath  Cuin,-  or  the  Northern  half  of 
Ireland,  and  Leath  Mogha,  or  the  Southern  half — Leath  Mogha  sub- 
divided by  Oliol  Olum  between  his  two  sons,  Eoghan  and  Cormac 
Cas,  the  former  being  King  of  Desmond,  the  latter  King  of  Thomond, 
and  chief  of  the  Dalcassians — Kennedyj  King  of  Thomond  died  (95 1) — 
Succeeded  by  his  eldest  son  Mahon — The  new  King  defeats  the  Danes — 
Is  treacherously  murdered — Brian  becomes  King — He  defeats  the 
.  Danes — Treaty  with  Malachy,-  the  Ardri — Battle  of  Glenmama — 
Brian  deposes  Malachy  and  becomes  Ardri  himself — His  reign — Battle 
of  Clontarf. 

In  the  second  century,  among  the  chieftains  who  ruled  the 
Irish  clans,  there  were  two  who  stood  out  in  special  prominence 
— Eoghan  or  Owen  More,  sometimes  called  Mogh  Nuadhat,  and 
Conn  of  the  Hundred  Battles.  Neither  wished  to  have  a  superior, 
nor  an  equal  ;  each  aimed  at  supreme  power  ;  they  fought  often 
and  with  varying  success,  and  at  length  made  peace  by  dividing 
the  sovereignty  of  Ireland  between  them.  The  dividing  line 
extended  from  Dublin  due  west  to  Galway  Bay,  and  was  marked 
by  a  line  of  low  sand-hills.*  North  of  this  line  was  Leath  Cuin, 
or  Conn's  half,  and  included  Ulster  and  Meath  and  Connaught. 
South  of  the  line  was  Leath  Mogh,  or  Owen's  half,  and  included 
Desmond  and  Thomond  and  Leinster,  though  at  no  time  was 
Leinster  disposed  to  acquiesce  in  the  rule  of  a  southern  Ardri, 
or  to  acknowledge  any  allegiance  to  a  southern  king.f  Still 
unsatisfied,  still  hoping  to  extend  his  power,  Owen  More,  after 
an  interval  of  a  year,  made  war  upon  the  northern  monarch.  % 
Conn  had  the  assistance  of  the  famous  Red  Branch  knights,  and 

*  Called    Esker-Riada,  and    terminated    at    Clarenbridge    in    Galway. 
{Four  M asters i  Vol.  I.,  p.   104.) 

t  Book  of  Rights,  pp.   58-9.    Note, 
j  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise,  p.   59. 


I02  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

above  all  of  Goll,  the  Firbolg  chief  of  the  militia  of  Connaught,* 
and,  at  the  battle  of  Moylena,  Owen  was  defeated  and  slain,  f 
With  his  death  the  power  of  his  family  sank  even  more  rapidly 
than  it  rose,  and  though  Owen's  son,  Oliol  Olum,  was  undisputed 
ruler  of  Desmond  and  Thomond,  and  was  styled  king  of  the 
southern  half  of  Ireland,  his  authority  over  Leinster  was  not 
recognised.  In  modern  times  the  Irish  farmer  has  often  divided 
his  farm  between  two  or  more  of  his  children,  leaving  to  each 
an  inheritance  of  poverty.  In  a  similar  spirit,  and  with  equally 
unfortunate  results,  did  Oliol  Olum  divide  his  kingdom  between 
his  two  sons,  Eoghan  and  Cormac  Cass  ;  the  descendants  of  the 
former,  in  later  times,  being  often  called  the  Eoghanachts,  and 
those  of  the  latter,  the  Dalcassians.  To  Eoghan,  who  was  the 
elder,  he  left  the  province  of  Desmond,  to  Cormac,  Thomond, 
directing  that  the  supreme  honour  of  King  of  Munster, 
with  the  royal  residence  at  Cashel,  should  be  alternately  held 
by  their  descendants.  X  The  arrangement  seemed  equitable 
enough,  but  it  weakened  the  power  of  Munster  by  dividing  it ;  it 
fostered  jealousies  and  rivalries,  and  the  contests  were  frequent 
and  bitter  between  the  Kings  of  Desmond  and  Thomond,  for 
the  higher  position  of  King  of  Munster. 

Brian  Boru  was  of  the  family  of  Cormac  Cass.  His  father 
was  Kennedy,  son  of  Lorcan.  He  was  slain  in  battle  with  the 
Danes  (951).  II  At  his  death  Brian  was  but  a  lad  of  ten  years. 
His  elder  brother,  also,  Donchuad,  had  been  killed  fighting  the 
Danes  (948),  and  the  young  prince  must  have  imbibed  from 
his  earliest  years,  a  hatred  of  these  foreigners  ;  and  what  he 
saw  with  his  own  eyes  and  heard  with  his  own  ears  must  have 
intensified  that  hate.  The  oppression  of  Tomar  was  still  fresh 
in  the  rninds  of  men,  and  the  sons  of  Ivar,  who  then  ruled  at 
Limerick,**  followed  but  too  faithfully  in  Tomar's  footsteps. 
The  Danish  ships,  which  so  often  spread  their  sails  upon  the 
Shannon,  still  carried,  as  in  Tomar's  time,  desolation  and  death 
to  many  a  home  ;  and  the  churches  and  monasteries 
on  Lough  Ree  and  the  islands  of  the  Shannon  were  no 
sooner  repaired  than  they  were  again  overwhelmed  in  ruin. 
In  his  father's  palace,  at  Kincora,  he  had  often  heard  of  how  the 
poor  man's  cattle  were  carried  off,  how  his  childi'en  were  swept 

*  Lady  Ferguson  ;    The  Irish  before  the  Conquest,  p.  97. 

t  As  Conn  is  said  to  have  enjoyed  peace  for  20  years  after  this  battle, 
and  as  he  died  in  157  {Four  Masters)  the  date  of  the  battle  is  ascertained 
as   137. 

X  Book  of  Rights,  p.  72  ;  Note. 

II  Annals  of  Innisfallen,  quoted  by  Todd  ;  Introd.  to  Gad  and  Gall,, 
p.  97. 

**  Gael  and  Gall;    Introduction,  p.    105. 


THE   DALCASSIAN   KINGS.  I03 

away  into  slavery,  and  how  these  pagans,  with  veneration  for 
neither  God  nor  man,  loved  to  heap  indignities  on  his  Church 
and  mocked  at  the  mysteries  of  his  faith.  Often  he  saw  his 
clansmen  go  forth  to  battle  in  proud  array,  and  come  back,  their 
ranks  broken  and  thinned,  leaving  their  best  and  bravest  behind 
them,  struck  down  by  the  Danish  battle-axes.  The  bards,  who 
recounted  the  gallant  deeds  of  the  Dalcassians,  had  also  to  chronicle 
their  defeats,  and  the  piteous  wail  of  the  widow  and  the  orphan 
too  often  replaced  the  exulting  cry  of  victory.  As  he  listened  to 
the  harper's  song,  if  his  cheeks  glowed  with  pride  at  the  recital 
of  his  kinsmen's  deeds,  his  heart  also  melted  with  pity  as  he 
heard  the  mournful  song  of  the  captive  held  in  Danish  bonds 
and  pining  for  his  kindred  and  his  home.  For  the  harper  excited 
sympathy  for  the  oppressed,  as  well  as  emulation  for  the  brave, 
and  often  the  saddening  strains  of  captivity  and  suffering  were 
mingled  with  the  livelier  notes  of  the  battle  march.  Filled  with 
pity  for  his  oppressed  kinsmen  and  with  indignation  against 
their  oppressors,  he  must  have  often  longed  to  be  at  the  head 
of  his  gallant  clansmen,  and  to  wrest  from  the  grasp  of  these 
haughty  foreigners  those  fertile  fields  along  the  Shannon,  which 
were  the  birth-right  of  his  family  and  his  race. 

Brian's  elder  brother,  Mahon,  became  King  of  Thomond 
(951),  his  claims  of  descent  being  recognised  by  the  chiefs  of 
the  Dalcassians.  He  was  no  less  entitled  to  be  King  of  Munster, 
for  the  last  king  was  of  the  Eugenian  line,  and,  by  the  will  of 
Oliol  Olum,  it  was  the  right  of  Mahon  to  succeed.  But  the  chiefs 
of  Desmond  refused  to  recognise  him,  nor  did  they  for  several 
years,  and  then  only  with  reluctance.  Mahon's  first  concern 
was  with  the  Danes.  The  ancient  territory  of  Thomond,  in- 
cluded the  present  county  of  Clare,  and  that  part  of  Galway 
from  Galway  Bay  eastward  in  a  straight  line  to  where  the  Suck 
mingles  its  waters  with  the  Shannon,  and  beyond  the  Shannon, 
eastward  still  to  Ossory  and,  southwards,  below  the  city  of 
Limerick.*  With  this  fine  province  the  Danes  had  played  sad 
havoc.  From  their  strongholds  at  Limerick  and  Tradree,f  they 
were  absolute  masters  of  the  Shannon  and  the  portion  eastward 
to  Ossory  was  so  much  in  their  power  that  Mahon  finally 
abandoned  it  and  had  to  content  himself  with  the  district  west 
of  the  Shannon.  Nor  was  even  this  part  of  Thomond  free.  The 
Danes  were  progressing  westwards,  and  all  the  indications  were 
that  all  Thomond  would  speedily  become  their  prey.  For  a  time 
Mahon,  aided  by  Brian,  kept  up  a  desultory  and  indecisive 
struggle,  and  then  he  made  peace  with  the  Danes.     To  this  peace 

*  Book  of  Rights,  p.  260.     The  southern  boundary  of  Thomond  is  still 
preserved  in  that  of  the  diocese  of  Killaloe. 

•j-  Near  Bunratty,  on  the  Clare  side  of  the  Shannon. 


I04  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

Brian  refused  to  consent,  and  at  the  head  of  a  few  followers, 
equally  determined  and  desperate  as  himself,  he  carried  on  the 
warfare  still.  He  avoided  pitched  battles  with  the  enemy,  fell 
upon  small  detached  parties  of  them,  harassed  them  by  night, 
waylaid  them  on  their  marches,  cut  them  off  in  twos  and  threes 
and  fives,  and  made  the  whole  district  west  of  the  Shannon 
unsafe  for  them,  except  while  they  were  within  the  shelter  of 
their  strongholds.  In  this  guerilla  warfare  the  sufferings  of 
himself  and  his  men  were  great.  They  had  to  often  change  their 
encampments,  they  had  to  sleep  in  woods  and  caves,  and,  worn 
out  without  sleep  and  often  without  food,  in  addition  to  their 
losses  in  battle,  their  numbers  became  so  reduced,  that  at  last 
Brian  had  but  fifteen  men  under  his  command.*  Mahon 
remonstrated  with  him,  and  pointed  out  the  futility  of  his  conduct 
in  wasting  his  strength  and  the  lives  of  his  clansmen  against 
overwhelming  odds.  Brian's  answer  was  a  reproach.  They 
should  not,  he  avowed,  abandon  to  dark  foreigners  and  black 
grim  gentiles  the  inheritance  which  their  fathers  and  grand- 
fathers had  transmitted  to  them,  and  which  in  their  own  day 
they  had  known  how  to  defend  ■]" ;  and  he  was  sure  that  his 
grandfather  Lorcan  would  have  never  made  such  a  peace  as 
Mahon  had  done,  neither  would  Lughaid  Menn,  nor  Core,  the 
son  of  Cas,  the  man  who  had  first  routed  the  foreigners.  Either 
his  reasons,  or  his  reproaches,  impressed  Mahon.  He  called 
together  the  clansmen  of  Thomond  to  consult,  and  unanimously 
they  declared  for  war.  With  Mahon  and  Brian  at  their  head 
they  crossed  the  Shannon,  captured  the  Danish  strongholds 
and,joined  by  the  friendly  tribes  of  the  Eoghanacts  andMuskerry,J 
they  wreaked  ample  vengeance  on  the  Danes  and,  finally  (964), 
they  entered  Cashel  in  triumph. 

While  these  events  were  in  progress,  Ivar  of  Limerick  seemed 
to  slumber,  but  the  rapid  progress  of  Mahon  roused  him  from 
his  repose.  As  head  of  the  Munster  Danes,  he  viewed  their 
defeat  with  sorrow,  and  the  sudden  advancement  of  Mahon 
with  alarm.  To  crush  these  aspiring  Dalcassians,  he  summoned 
the  Danes  from  all  quarters  of  Munster.  Nor  was  he  without 
native  allies,  for  Molloy,  King  of  Desmond,  and  Donovan  of 
Hy-Carbry  and  Hy-Fidghente,  were  jealous  of  Mahon,  and  with 
strange  perversity,  though    they  hated    the  Danes  they    hated 

*  Wars  of  tlie  Gael  and  Gall,  pp.  61-2. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.   67-70. 

X  They  were  the  descendants  of  Carbry  Muse,  King  of  Ireland  in  the 
third  century.  Their  territories  included  the  present  baronies  of  East 
and  West  Muskerry,  County  of  Cork,  and  those  of  Clanwilliam  and  Upper 
and  Lower  Ormond,  County  Tipperary.  {Gael  and  Gall,  Todd's  Introd., 
p.  115).      Vid.  also  Book  of  Rights,  pp.  42-45. 


THE   DALCASSIAN   KINGS.  I05 

their  own  countrymen  more  ;  and  willingly  and  even  eagerly 
they  joined  Ivar.*  This  powerful  confederacy,  Mahon  and  Brian 
took  measures  to  resist.  The  friendly  Munster  clans  answered 
their  call,  even  theDelbnaf  clan  from  Connaught  came  to  their 
assistance,  and  when  all  were  assembled  they  determined  to 
await  at  Sulcoit,  or  Solohead  (968),  the  attack  of  the  advancing 
Danes.  The  place,  some  two  miles  north-west  of  Tipperary, 
was  covered  by  a  wood  of  sallow  trees,  which  was  used  as  shelter 
by  the  Irish  troops.  We  do  not  know  the  numbers  engaged, 
nor  the  tactics  pursued,  but  it  was  the  Danes  who  attacked, 
and  some,  if  not  all,  of  them  were  clothed  in  coats  of  mail  J 
but  this  did  not  avail  them.  The  Irish  had  by  that  time  learned 
to  use  the  battle-axe  as  dexterously  as  the  Danes  themselves, 
recent  victories  had  given  them  courage,  and  the  memory  of 
past  wrongs  nerved  their  arms  in  the  fight.  After  a  furious 
contest,  lasting  from  sunrise  to  mid -day,  the  Danes  retreated  on 
all  sides,  pursued  by  the  victorious  Irish,  and  were  slaughtered 
without  mercy.  With  little  delay,  Mahon  and  Brian  advanced 
to  Limerick,  and  in  the  city  fort,  to  which  the  Danes  fled,  they 
were  mercilessly  cut  down  and  both  fort  and  city  plundered 
and  burned.  The  spoils  that  fell  to  the  victors  are  enumerated 
— "  beautiful  and  foreign  saddles;  jewels,  gold  and  silver,  and  silks; 
soft,  youthful,  bright  girls  ;  blooming,  silk-clad  women  ;  active, 
well-formed  boys."  The  trembling  captives  were  marshalled 
on  the  hillocks  of  Saingel,  outside  Limerick,  and  "  everyone 
that  was  lit  for  war  was  put  to  death,  and  everyone  that  was 
fit  for  a  slave  was  enslaved. "I|  Mahon  secured  his  position  by 
getting  hostages  from  the  various  Munster  clans,  taking  special 
care  to  have  hostages  from  Donovan  and  Molloy.  Their  ally, 
Ivar,  fled  with  a  remnant  of  his  forces  to  Scattery  Island,  which 
henceforth   became   his   stronghold.** 

Under  Mahon's  vigorous  rule  the  Danes  were  kept  in  check, 
the  native  chiefs  were  awed  into  submission,  the  clamour  of 
faction  was  stilled,  and  Munster,  for  nearly  eight  years,  enjoyed 
the  blessings  of  peace.  All  this  was  little  suited  to  Ivar  and  his 
Danes.  Cooped  up  in  their  island-stronghold  in  the  Shannon, 
they  were  compelled  to  confine  themselves  to  the  peaceful  occu- 
pations of  commerce,  and  had  to  desist  from  violence  and  plunder, 
while  the  Munster  clans  acquiesced  in  the  rule  of  Mahon  and 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  pp.  73-75. 

t  Book  of  Rights,  p.  105.  Their  territory  was  the  present  barony  of 
Moycullen  (Galway).  They  were  descended,  like  the  O'Briens,  from  Cormac 
Cas. 

+  Gael  and  Gall,  p.  jj.  There  is  mention  made  of  a  "  battalion  of 
horsemen  in  corselets." 

;|  Ibid.,  pp.   79-81. 

**  Ibid.,  p.  85. 


I06  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

contentedly  reposed  under  the  protecting  shelter  of  his  power. 
To  stir  up  strife,  to  promote  discord,  to  set  clan  against  clan, 
above  all  to  weaken  and,  if  possible,  to  destroy  Mahon  was  now 
Ivar's  ambition.  To  Donovan  and  Molloy  he  again  appealed, 
asking  them  if  they  would  tamely  submit  to  be  subjects  of  him 
whom  they  had  long  held  as  inferior  to  themselves.  The  seed 
was  cast  upon  a  not  unfruitful  soil.  Both  chiefs  were  the  repre- 
sentatives of  Eoghan,  and  the  sons  of  Eoghan  regarded  with 
disdain  the  chiefs  of  the  Dalcassians.  With  larger  territory  and 
greater  power,  they  often  set  at  defiance  the  will  of  Oliol  Olum, 
and  seldom  acknowledged  any  of  the  Dalcassians  as  King  of 
Munster.  This  inherited  antipathy  had  been  already  shown 
by  Donovan  and  Molloy,  and  it  was  embittered  by  recent  defeat. 
They  believed  that  the  present  power  of  Thomond  was  due  to 
the  commanding  talents  of  Mahon,  and  that  if  he  were  removed, 
the  predominance  of  Desmond  would  return.  Filled  with  these 
hopes,  they  entered  into  a  conspiracy  with  Ivar*  and  perpetrated 
a  heinous  crime,  which  has  covered  their  names  with  perpetual 
infamy.  Pretending  friendship,  Donovan  invited  Mahon  to  a 
banquet  at  his  palace  at  Bruree.  Mahon  went,  but  as  he  had 
experience  already  of  Donovan's  treachery,  he  was  distrustful, 
and  stipulated  for  the  safe  conduct  of  the  Bishop  of  Cork,  and 
besides,  he  carried  on  his  person  the  Gospel  of  St.  Finbarr,  a 
relic  much  venerated  in  the  Irish  Church.  Thus  protected,  he 
counted  on  immunity  from  foul  play.  But  Donovan  would 
be  restrained  by  no  guarantees  ;  he  made  Mahon  prisoner  and 
sent  him  southwards  to  Molloy,  to  be  dealt  with  as  they  had 
already  agreed.  To  lull  suspicion,  Molloy  sent  one  of  the  Cork 
clergy  with  the  escort  which  he  sent  north,  and  to  which  Mahon 
was  to  be  delivered,  but  he  had  also  given  secret  orders  that  he 
was  to  be  murdered  ;  and  at  a  place  called  in  modern  times 
Redchair,  on  the  confines  of  Limerick  and  Cork,  and  on  the 
road  from  Kilmallock  to  Fermoy  the  deed  was  done.  The  priest 
was  unsuspecting  and  so  also  was  the  Bishop  of  Cork,  who  accom- 
panied Molloy,  and  was  some  distance  in  the  rere.  Mahon  was 
unarmed  and  seeing  the  murderer  about  to  strike,  he  threw 
to  the  priest  the  Gospel  of  St.  Finbarr,  lest  it  might  be  stained 
with  his  blood,  but  the  fatal  blow  had  been  already  struck,  the 
shrine  containing  the  book  was  bespattered  with  his  blood,  and 
with  the  sword  plunged  in  his  heart,  Mahon  fell  dead.  The 
horrified  Bishop  of  Cork,  turning  to  Molloy,  asked  what  it  all 
meant.  He  was  answered  with  a  sneer.  "  Cure  yonder  man  " 
said  Molloy,  and  putting  spurs  to  his  horse  he  rapidly  rode  away,  f 

♦  Gael  mid  Gall,  pp.   85-7. 

t  Healy's  Ancient  Schools  and  Scholars ^  pp.  484-5  ;    Gael  and  Gall, 
p.  89. 


THE   DALCASSIAN   KINGS.  I07 

By  the  rule  of  alternate  succession  Molloy  became  King  of 
Munster.  Freed  from  the  hated  superiority  of  Mahon,  backed 
by  Donovan  and  Ivar,  he  regarded  his  position  as  unassailable, 
never  thinking  that  Brian,  the  new  King  of  Thomond,  had 
equal  ability  or  resources  to  those  of  Mahon.  He  was  destined 
to  discover  his  error.  In  the  quaint  language  of  MacLiag,  Brian 
was  not  a  stone  in  place  of  an  egg,  nor  a  wisp  of  hay  in  place  of 
a  club,  but  he  was  a  hero  in  place  of  a  hero.*  He  deeply 
mourned  his  brother's  death,  with  whom  he  had  shared  so  many 
sorrows  and  so  many  triumphs,  but  the  days  of  mourning  soon 
passed  and  he  turned  to  the  sterner  duty  of  retribution  and 
revenge.  His  first  attack  was  on  the  Danes.  In  Scattery  Island 
they  thought  themselves  safe  ;  the  memory  and  sanctity  of  St. 
Senanus  still  hovered  over  the  spot ;  and  they  expected  that  the 
holy  associations  of  the  place  would  shield  them  from  Brian's 
rage.f  But  Brian  was  resolved  on  extirpating  them  and  aided 
by  his  kinsmen  the  O'Donnells  of  Corcabascin,  he  manned  a 
fleet,  landed  on  the  island,  and  almost  annihilated  the  Danes 
{977),  among  the  slain  being  Ivar  and  his  sons.  A  remnant 
of  the  Limerick  Danes  under  Harold  now  joined  Donovan,  and 
against  this  combination  Brian  turned  his  victorious  arms. 
Entering  Hy-Fidghente,  he  captured  Donovan's  fortress  of 
Cathair  Cuan,  and  both  Harold  and  Donovan  were  killed. J 
Almost  immediately  he  attacked  Molloy,  and  at  Bealach  Leachta, 
near  Macroom,  he  defeated  him  (978)  with  the  loss  of  1200  men, 
Molloy  himself  falling  in  the  battle.  ||  In  this  way  were  the 
murderers  of  Mahon  punished  for  their  crime. 

These  victories  made  Brian  undisputed  King  of  Munster, 
and  far  beyond  its  limits  he  soon  carried  the  terror  of  his  name. 
The  Deisi,  who  showed  some  sympathy  with  his  late  enemies, 
he  compelled  to  give  hostages,  he  interdicted  the  churches 
throughout  Munster  from  giving  sanctuary  either  to  rebels  or 
thieves,  the  Danes  of  Waterford  became  his  subjects,  or  at  least 
his  allies,  he  imprisoned  Gillapatrick,  King  of  Ossory,  and  made 
his  province  tributary,  nor  was  he  satisfied  until  he  entered 
Leinster  (984),  and  received  homage  from  Donal  Claen,  its  king. 
Thus  did  he  become  monarch  of  the  southern  half  of  Ireland, 
and  ruled  over  the  whole  extent  of  territory  once  ruled  by  his 
ancestor,  Eoghan  More.  But  it  is  the  nature  of  ambition  to  be 
insatiable,  and  even  with  the  ample  enlargement  of  his  dominions, 
Brian  was  not  yet  satisfied.    With  three  hundred  vessels,  he  sailed 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  p.   lor. 

t  Indeed  the  Four  Masters  say  that  the  island  was  violated  by  Brian; 
(.Four  AI asters,  Vol.   II.,  p.  705.) 
X  Gael  and  Gall,  p.    103. 
II  Ibid,  p.   107. 


I08  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Up  the  Shannon,  ravaged  Meath  and  Breffni,  perpetrated  great 
evils  in  Connaught  (988),  killing  the  son  of  the  Connaught  crown 
prince.*  His  victorious  progress  filled  the  Ardri  with  alarm, 
nor  was  Malachy  one  to  have  his  rights  thus  openly  invaded, 
and,  above  all,  to  have  his  hereditary  territory  of  Meath  ravaged 
with  impunity.  Carrying  the  war  into  Brian's  own  territory, 
he  entered  Thomond,  and  defeated  the  Dalcassians  (990)  with 
the  loss  of  six  hundred  men.f  In  the  plain  of  Magh-Adhair,  and 
under  the  shade  of  a  great  tree,  the  kings  of  Thomond  were 
always  solemnly  inaugurated,  in  the  presence  of  representatives 
of  all  the  Dalcassian  clans.  In  indignation,  Malachy  tore  up 
this  venerable  tree,  cut  it  into  pieces,  and  used  it  to  roof  part  of 
his  palace.J  Two  years  later  he  defeated  Brian  in  Meath,  and  a 
little  later  still  (996),  he  defeated  him  near  Nenagh.  !1  How 
this  war  between  two  such  able  chiefs  would  have  ended,  it  was 
impossible  to  foresee,  but  both  had  the  sense  and  patriotism 
to  wish  it  ended,  and  at  Plein-Phuttoge**  in  Westmeath,  on  the 
shores  of  Lough  Owell,  they  met  (998)  and  agreed,  as  did  Conn 
and  Eoghan  in  olden  days,  to  divide  Ireland  between  them. 
Munster  and  Leinster,  as  also  the  tribes  of  Hy-Fiacra  Aine  and 
Hy-Many,ff  were  given  to  Brian,  and  the  sole  sovereignty  of 
Leath  Cuin,  with  this  exception,  to  belong  to  Malachy,  without 
war  or  trespass  from  Brian.  The  two  kings  became  allies  and 
friends  and  in  more  than  one  hour  of  trial  they  fought  subse- 
quently side  by  side. 

The  power  of  the  Limerick  Danes  was  now  broken  ;  the 
Danes  of  Waterford  crouched  in  submission  at  Brian's  feet, 
and  in  his  war  in  Connaught  were  proud  to  fight  in  his  army  ; 
but  the  Dublin  Danes  were  still  strong.  They  had  been  compelled 
to  pay  tribute  to  Malachy,  but  the  tribute  did  not  appreciably 
diminish  their  resources.  Transferred  from  Malachy  to  Brian, 
they  resolved  to  revolt  against  their  new  master.  Perhaps  they 
were  encouraged  by  his  recent  defeats  at  the  hands  of  Malachy, 
perhaps  they  hoped  that  the  alliance  between  the  two  kings 
would  not  be  either  cordial  or  lasting,  and  that  jealousies  would 
arise  to  mar  its  efficacy  ;  but  most  of  all  they  hoped  from  their 
alliance  with  Maelmorra,  King  of  Leinster,  who  placed  the  whole 
resources  of  his  kingdom  at  their  command.  Brian  was  not  one 
to  delay  when  rebellion  had  to  be  crushed,  and  rapidly  mustering 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  pp.    107-109. 
t  Fotir  Masters. 

X  White's  History  of  Clare,  p.   54. 

II  The  southern  historians  are  silent  about  these  victories. 
**  Gael  and  Gall,  p.   109.      Introduction,  p.   142. 

ft    Hy  Many  is  usually  included  in  ancient  maps  in  the  northern  half 
or  Leath  Cuinn. 


THE   DALCASSIAN   KINGS.  IO9 

his  forces,  he  marched  towards  DubHn.  On  his  way  he  was 
joined  by  Malachy,  and  to  the  joy  of  the  whole  nation,  so  long 
wearied  with  discord,  the  two  kings  fought  together  against  the 
common  enemy.  In  the  county  of  Wicklow,  near  the  present 
town  of  Dunlavin,  the  battle  was  fought  (jiooo).  A  low  range 
of  hills,  running  parallel  to  the  Wicklow  mountains,  is  here  cut 
by  the  valley  of  Glenmama,  and  in  this  valley  the  opposing  forces 
met.*  The  broader  plains  of  Kildare  would  have  better  suited 
the  Danish  cavalry,  and  thither  they  were  hastening,  but  the 
rapidity  of  Brian's  march  disconcerted  them,  and  in  a  narrow 
space  the  use  of  cavalry  was  of  little  advantage.  After  a  severe 
contest  the  Irish  forces  were  victorious,  the  Danes  losing  4000, 
among  them  Harold,  the  Danish  Crown  Prince.  Maelmorra 
of  Leinster,  feeling  how  guilty  he  had  been,  dreaded  falling  into 
the  hands  of  his  enemies,  and  hid  himself  in  a  yew  tree,t  but  he 
was  discovered  and  dragged  from  his  hiding  place  by  Murrogh, 
son  of  Brian,  though  his  life  was  spared.  Without  delay  the 
conquerors  entered  Dublin.  The  spoils  in  the  captured  city 
were  immense  and  for  the  most  part  fell  to  Brian.  Gold,  silver 
bronze,  precious  stones,  "  buffalo  horns  and  beautiful  goblets," 
and  to  these  are  added  m.any  women,  boys  and  girls  who  were 
carried  away  into  slavery  by  the  Irish. J  From  Dublin,  Brian 
ravaged  Leinster,  levelled  its  fortresses,  burnt  its  woods  and 
then  returned  to  Kincora,  laden  with  spoil. 

In  the  light  of  subsequent  events  it  seems  evident  that  before 
his  treaty  with  Malachy,  Brian  had  determined  to  become  Ardri 
himself.  The  vigour  and  capacity  of  Malachy  caused  him  to 
dissemble,  but  his  plans  were  postponed  rather  than  abandoned, 
and  when  the  Danes  and  Leinster  were  vanquished,  he  thought 
the  opportune  moment  had  arrived.  With  his  late  enemies  he 
formed  alliances,  giving  his  daughter  to  Sitric,  the  Danish  King 
of  Dublin  in  marriage,  and  himself  taking  Sitric's  mother, 
Gormfleth,  who  was  sister  of  Maelmorra  of  Leinster.  ||  Aided 
by  these  new  allies,  and  in  violation  of  his  treaty  with  Malachy, 
he  entered  Meath  and  demanded  hostages.  The  cavalry  of  his 
Danish  allies  pushed  forward  in  advance  ;  Malachy  fell  upon 
them  and  cut  them  to  pieces**  and  Brian,  disconcerted  by  this 
disaster,  withdrew.  But  he  was  tenacious  and  persevering  and 
the  next  year  (1002)  he  again  entered  Meath,  established  his 
headquarters  atTara,  and  peremptorily  demanded  that  Malachy 
should  abdicate  in  his  favour. 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  p.  iii  ;    Introduction,  pp.  145-6; 

t  Ibid.^  p.   119. 

X  Ibid.,  pp.    1 15-17. 

!|  Gael  and  Gall^  p.   119;     Introduction,  pp.   148-9. 

•**  Four  Masters  at  the  year  999. 


no  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

For  nearly  600  years  the  supreme  position  of  Ardri  had 
belonged  to  the  descendants  of  Nial — the  chiefs  of  Meath, 
Tirowen  and  Tirconnell.  The  succession  was  sometimes  irregular 
and  often  disputed,  but  it  was  always  confined  to  the  same  family 
and  from  the  ninth  century  it  was  narrowed  down  to  the  princes 
of  Meath  and  Tirowen  ;  and  among  these  the  rule  of  alternate 
succession  prevailed,  an  arrangement  similar  to  that  which 
existed  in  the  south  between  the  Kings  of  Desmond  and  Thomond. 
Time  had  given  stability  to  the  arrangement,  and  possession  of 
the  throne  for  centuries  had  established  prescriptive  rights  of 
which  few  royal  houses  in  that  age  could  boast.  Even  the  most 
ambitious  hesitated  to  assail  a  dynasty  which  the  changes  of 
centuries  had  not  overturned,  and  except  Fedlimy  in  the  ninth, 
and  Cormac  in  the  tenth  century,  no  king  of  either  north  or 
south  had  presumed  to  take  the  honour  from  the  house  of  Nial. 
Nor  was  there  in  the  eleventh  century  among  these  princes  the 
same  discord  as  in  the  centuries  which  had  passed.  The  number 
of  Ardris  who  died  peaceably  was  increasingly  large,  and  of  those 
who  fell  in  battle,  all,  or  nearly  all,  fell  in  battle  with  the  Danes. 
Malachy  was  no  mere  faction  fighter  ;  he  knew  the  evils  of 
dissension  ;  he  appreciated  the  advantage  of  a  strong  central 
government,  strong  enough  to  make  itself  respected  and  feared  ; 
he  recognised  the  great  capacity  of  Brian,  knew  that  his  resources 
were  great  and  that  with  the  Danes  and  Leinstermen  as  his 
allies  his  power  seemed  overwhelming.  Yet  his  own  title  to  the 
supreme  position  was  unquestioned  ;  what  he  had  inherited  he 
was  unwilling  to  abandon  without  a  struggle  ;  and  if  he  could 
have  obtained  the  help  of  the  Northern  princes,  he  would  have 
fought  rather  than  submitted.  To  Aedh  of  Tirowen,*  Eochy 
of  Uladh,  and  Cahal  of  Connaught  he  sent  Slevin,  his  Chief  Bard, 
who  appealed  for  aid  to  those  princes  with  a  bard's  impassioned 
eloquence."!"  He  indignantly  asked  Aedh  was  he  going  to  submit 
to  one  who  was  bv.t  lately  the  chief  of  a  Munster  clan,  was  he 
going  to  disgrace  the  memory  of  his  ancestors  and  surrender 
without  a  blow  the  inheritance  won  by  the  genius  of  the  great 
Nial.  Aedh's  answer  was  that  when  a  Tirowen  prince  was  Ardri, 
he  was  able  to  defend  his  position,  and  that  he  would  not  risk 
his  life  in  battle  with  the  Dalcassians,  in  defence  of  sovereignty 
for  any  other  man.  Hoping  to  succeed  where  his  Chief  Bard  had 
failed,  Malachy  appealed  to  Aedh  in  person,  offered  even  to 
abdicate  in  Aedh's  favour  and  to  fight  by  his  side.  This  offer 
Aedh  was  willing  to  accept,  but  his  clansmen  had  to  be  consulted 

•  Aedh  was  Malachy's  uncle,  and  had  therefore  a  personal  interest  in 
maintaining  the  supremacy  of  Leath  Cuinn. 
■f  Gael  and  Gall,  pp.    1 21-127. 


THE   DALCASSIAN   KINGS.  Ill 

and  they  decided  to  reject  it,  except  on  the  insulting  condition 
that  Malachy  would  surrender  to  Tirowen  half  of  his  ancestral 
territory  of  Meath.  Disgusted  and  disheartened,  Malachy 
returned  home,  called  his  clansmen  together  and  the  decision 
was  to  submit  to  Brian.  With  twelve  score  horsemen,  Malachy 
rode  to  Tara  and  submitted  to  Brian,  telling  him  that  he  would 
have  fought  if  he  could  have  got  the  assistance  that  he  sought.* 
He  was  received  with  every  mark  of  respect  and  became  Brian's 
ally  and  friend. 

The  resources  of  the  new  Ardri  were  such  that  no  power  in 
Ireland  could  successfully  resist  him.  Yet  the  Northern  princes 
Aedh  and  Eochy  still  held  out,  and  the  submission  of  Cahal  of 
Connaught  was  sullen  and  reluctant.  With  a  strong  fleet  Brian 
sailed  up  the  Shannon,  menaced  Connaught  with  a  large  army 
at  Athlone,  and  Cahal  was  compelled  to  give  the  requisite  hos- 
tages.j  In  the  same  year  ('1003)  the  Ardri  marched  northwards 
as  far  as  Dundalk  where  he  had  a  conference  with 
Aedh  and  Eochy  and  made  a  truce  with  them  for  a  year. 
When  the  year  was  over  he  again  marched  northwards 
and  received  submission  from  all  as  far  as  Armagh,  but 
in  the  meantime  the  northern  princes  had  quarrelled  and 
gone  to  war,  and  at  Crabh  Tulcha  X  both  Aedh  and  Eochy  were 
slain.  The  favourable  moment  was  seized  by  Brian  and  he  took 
hostages  from  all  the  north.  On  his  way  south  he  stopped  at 
Armagh  and  laid  an  offering  of  twenty  ounces  of  gold  on  the 
high  altar  of  the  church,  a  fact  commemorated  in  the  Book  of 
Armagh.  Perhaps,  as  Todd  thinks,  by  this  politic  measure  he 
wished  to  secure  the  good  will  of  the  clergy,  and  obtain  for  his 
infant  dynasty  the  prestige  of  the  Church's  support.  The  sub- 
mission of  the  more  powerful  princes  secured,  he  might  feel 
safe  upon  his  throne,  but  there  were  still  some  lesser  chiefs  from 
whom  trouble,  if  not  danger,  might  arise.  To  guard  against 
such  a  contingency  he  made  a  circuit  of  the  whole  country 
taking  hostages  as  he  went  along.  With  the  Dublin  and  Waterford 
Danes  and  his  own  Munster  clans  he  left  Kincora  (1005),  passed 
through  Roscommon,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  Connaughtmen, 
thence  over  the  Curlew  mountains  through  Sligo,  Leitrim, 
Donegal  and  Tyrone,  thence  to  Dalriadia,  Uladh  and  Dalaradh  || 
and  south  to  Meath,  where  his  followers  were  disbanded,  the 

*  Gael  and.  Gall,  p.   131. 

t  Ibid.,  p.   133- 

%  Ibid.;  p.-  133.  The  place  is  now  called  Crewe,  near  Glenavy,  in  the 
barony  of  Upper  Masserene,  County  of  Antrim.  {Four  Masters,  Vol.  II.j 
p.  749,  note.) 

II  These   three   principalities   would   be   represented    by   the   present 
Counties  of  Antrim  and  Down. 


112  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Connaughtmen  going  west,  the  Danes  to  Dublin  and  Waterford, 
and  Brian  himself  to  Kincora.* 

The  Ardri  was  then  past  his  sixtieth  year,  and  in  his  old  age 
he  might  expect  peace  after  so  many  wars  and  rest  after  so  many 
labours.  His  wish  was  to  repair  in  peace  the  ravages  of  war. 
Roads  and  bridges  were  constructed,  harbours  built,  new  churches 
erected  and  ruined  ones  repaired,  and  as  a  terror  to  rebellion 
several  strong  fortresses  were  erected  throughout  Munster.f 
Under  his  vigorous  rule  justice  was  administered  with  impartiality, 
lawlessness  was  suppressed,  the  piracy  of  the  Dane  and  the  foray 
of  the  native  chief  were  alike  ended  ;  and  the  legend  has  survived, 
that  a  maiden,  young,  beautiful,  and  richly  dressed,  and  with 
a  gold  ring  on  her  wand,  might  pass  unmolested  from  Tory 
Island  to  Glandore.  J  In  the  churches  the  priest  could  offer 
Mass  and  the  people  worship  in  security,  the  monks  in  their 
convents  chanted  the  psalms  as  of  old,  the  hermit  fasted  and 
prayed  without  his  devotions  being  interrupted  by  a  pagan  foe, 
and  in  the  schools  and  colleges  erected  and  liberally  endowed, 
the  Ollave  was  paid  to  teach  and  the  children  encouraged  to 
learn.  Engaged  wholly  in  commerce,  the  Danes  were  rapidly 
enriching  tlie  seaport  towns  and  paid  regularly  their  tribute  of 
wine  to  the  Ardri  ;  the  Boru  tribute  was  revived — a  fatal  mistake 
— and  was  paid  by  Leinster  ;  the  other  chiefs  paid  their  various 
contributions  ;  and,  at  Kincora,  Brian  dispensed  a  hospitality 
not  unworthy  of  a  great  king.  In  his  palace  the  songs  of  triumph 
were  once  more  heard,  the  valour  of  the  Dalcassians  was  extolled 
and  sometimes  the  old  monarch  himself  took  his  harp  and  played 
for  the  assembled  guests.  ||  For  nearly  ten  years  Ireland  enjoyed 
a  period  of  almost  unbroken  peace.**  Once  there  was  unrest 
among  the  Northern  clans  (loio),  and  again,  in  Ossory,  but 
Murrogh,  the  Ardri's  son,  suppressed  these  disturbances,  and 
the  personal  intervention  of  Brian  was  not  called  for,  until  the 
Danes  and  Leinster  united  against  him,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  make  the  greatest  effort  of  his  life,  as  it  was  also  destined  to 
be  his  last. 

The  imposition  of  the  hated  cow  tribute  ff  was  galling  to  the 
Leinstermen,  who  submitted  only  through  fear.     The  restraints 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  p.    137. 

t  Ibid.,   141 

X  Gael  and  Gall.  p.  139.     Introd.j  p.  159. 

II  The  harp  in  Trinity  College,  commonly  called  Brian's  harp,  is  not 
as  old  as  the  time  of  Brian  (O  Curry's  Manners  and  Customs,  Vol.  III.j 
p.   269.) 

**  This  is  MacLiag's  account,  but  Todd  has  justly  remarked  that  the 
Annals  for  the  period  do  not  bear  him  out.     (Introd.^  p.  159,  note.) 

ft  The  date  at  which  Brian  reimposed  it  is  uncertain^  perhaps  after 
becoming  Ardri. 


THE   DALCASSIAN   KINGS.  II3 

of  a  strong  government  were  equally  galling  to  the  Danes. 
Sharing  the  common  misfortune  of  subjection,  both  Danes  and 
Leinstermen  entertained  the  common  hope  of  deliverance  ;  they 
watched  for  a  favourable  moment  to  strike  ;  the  embers  of  dis- 
content smouldered,  and  a  spark  only  was  required  to  kindle 
them  into  flame.  As  part  of  his  tribute  the  Leinster  King  was 
bringing  to  Kincora  (1013),  three  pine  trees  for  ship's  masts, 
and  amongst  the  carriers  some  dispute  arose  as  to  who  was  to 
be  in  the  first  place.  To  end  the  dispute  the  king  himself  took 
the  first  place,  and  in  his  exertions  in  carrying  the  tree  one  of 
the  silver  buttons  of  his  tunic  was  torn  off.*  At  Kincora  he 
handed  the  tunic  to  his  sister,  Gormfleth,t  asking  her  to  sew 
on  the  displaced  button,  but  the  lady,  instead,  heaped  reproaches 
on  him  for  being  a  mere  vassal,  and  angrily  flung  the  tunic  into 
the  fire.  The  position  she  occupied  in  Brian's  palace  is  not  easily 
explained.  She  had  married  in  succession  Olaf  Cuaran  of  Dublin 
and  Malachy,  the  late  Ardri.  By  each  she  was  repudiated,  and 
finally  she  married  Brian. J  By  Olaf,  she  was  the  mother  of  Sitric, 
the  Danish  King  of  Dublin  ;  by  Malachy  also  she  had  a  son, 
but  she  was  not  the  mother  of  any  of  Brian's  children. |l  Nor 
can  she  have  been  his  wife  if  she  was  also  Malachy's  wife,  for 
they  were  all  Christians,  and  the  bond  of  Christian  marriage 
is  the  same  for  a  king  as  for  a  subject.  Kings  have  rarely  been 
slow  to  break  through  moral  restraints  and  it  seems  likely  that 
her  connection  with  Brian  was  one  of  those  irregular  and  illicit 
connections  which  have  often  disgraced  a  throne.  Nor  was 
Gormfleth's  character  inconsistent  with  this  assumption.  In 
the  words  of  the  Saga,  in  all  phyiscal  and  natural  endowments, 
"  she  was  the  fairest  of  women,"  but  in  her  moral  conduct  "  she 
did  all  things  ill."  Her  taunting  words  irritated  Maelmorra,  and 
his  irritation  was  soon  shown.  Looking  on  at  a  game  of  chess 
which  was  being  played  between  Murrogh  and  his  cousin  Conaing, 
Maelmorra  suggested  a  move,  which  ended  in  Murrogh  losing 
the  game.  Murrogh  angrily  remarked,  "  that  was  like  the 
advice  you  gave  the  Danes  which  lost  them  Glenmama." 
Maelmorra  with  equal  anger,  replied  "  I  will  now  give  them 
advice  and  they  shall  not  be  defeated."    "  Then,"  said  Murrogh, 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  p.  143.  The  tunic  with  the  silver  buttons  was  a  gift 
from  Brian,  and  was  the  token  of  Maelmorra's  vassalage. 

I  She  was  the  daughter  of  Murrough,  son  of  Fin,  King  of  Leinster. 
(^Four  Masters,  at  the  year  1030,  the  year  Gormfleth  died.) 

X  Halliday's  conjecture  that  she  first  married  Brian  and  thatj  divorced 
by  him,  she  married  Olaf,  is  ridiculous  (Scandinavian  Kingdom  of  Dublin^ 
p.   78,  note.) 

II  Story  of  Burnt  Njal,  Vol.  II.,  p.  323.  MacLiag  says  she  was  the 
mother  of  Donough,  son  of  Brian  (p.  143). 

I 


114  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

"  you  had  better  remind  them  to  have  a  yew  tree  ready  for  your 
reception."*  In  bitterness  of  heart  and  in  secret,  Maelmorra 
left  Kincora  the  following  morning.  Brian  despatched  a 
messenger  after  him  imploring  him  to  return  and  that  all  neces- 
sary explanations  and  apologies  would  be  given  him,  but  the 
angry  king  would  not  be  appeased  :  he  even  killed  the  messenger 
of  peace,  and  hurried  home  to  prepare  for' war. 

Arrived  at  Leinster,  Maelmorra  recounted  to  his  assembled 
clansmen  the  insults  he  had  received.  They  decided  to  revolt 
and  were  quickly  joined  by  the  Dublin  Danes,  by  Flaherty 
O'Neill  of  Tirowen  and  by  O'Rorke  of  Breffni.  Those  two  latter 
chiefs  suddenly  invaded  Meath  and  defeated  Malachy,  but  in  a 
second  battle  were  defeated .f  Retreating  towards  Dublin, 
Malachy  pursued  them  and  ravaged  the  country  as  far  as  Howth, 
but  he  was  met  by  the  Leinster  men  and  Danes,  defeated  with 
the  loss  of  two  hundred  of  his  men,  pursued  to  his  own  country, 
which  was  plundered  to  its  centre  and  "  captives  and  cattle 
innumerable  carried  off  from  the  Termon  of  Fabhar."  J  Unable 
to  make  headway  against  so  many  enemies,  Malachy  appealed  to 
Brian  who  with  his  son,  Murrogh,  set  out  to  his  assistance.  They 
overran  Ossory  and  Leinster  taking  many  prisoners,  and  from 
Kilmainham  l?id  siege  to  Dublin,  but  being  unable  to  capture 
the  city,  they  had  to  raise  the  siege  and  return  home.|l 

The  next  few  months  were  spent  by  both  sides  in  preparing 
for  the  great  struggle  which  all  felt  to  be  near.  From  Kincora 
the  summons  went  forth  and  was  readily  answered  by  the  clans- 
men of  Thomond.  From  Loop  Head  to  Limerick  and  Lough 
Derg,  and  across  to  Burren,  Corcomroe  and  Corcobascin,  washed 
by  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic,  the  Dalcassians  came,  under  their 
chiefs,  the  O'Briens,  the  O'Deas,  the  MacNamaras,  the 
Macinerneys  and  the  O'Quinns.  Proud  of  their  present  pre- 
eminence and  their  past  achievements,  they  remembered  that 
theirs  was  the  privilege  to  be  first  into  the  battle  and  last  out 
of  it  ;  they  had  unbounded  confidence  in  Brian,  and  were  ready 
to  follow  even  to  death  the  lead  of  him  who  had  so  often  led 
them  to  victory.  From  across  the  Shannon  the  fighting  men 
of  Ormond  came.**  The  country  of  the  Hy  Fidhgheinte,  once 
disgraced  by  the  treachery  of  Donovan,  furnished  their  con- 
tingent ;  and  time  had  so  far  softened  ancient  enmity,  that 
Cian,  son  of  Molloy,  came  with  the  forces  of  Desmond.      The 

*  Gael  and  Gall^  p.    145. 

t  Four  Masters^  at  the  year  1012.    Gael  and  Gall,  pp.  147-9-     ^^  ^^^ 
of  these  battles  Donal,  Malachy's  grandson  and  heir,  was  killed. 
%  Gael  and  Gall^  p.    149. 
II  Ibid.'^  p.    151. 
■**  Ibid.,  p.   1^7 .     Four  Masters,  at  the  year  1013. 


THE   DALCaSSIAN   KINGS.  II5 

Deisi  were  under  their  chief,  Mothla,  and  from  Connaught  were 
the  Hy  Many,  under  Teige  O'Kelly,  and  the  Hy  Fiacra,  under 
O'Heyne.  The  princes  of  Uladh  and  Tirowen  remained  in  the 
north  in  unfriendly  and  gloomy  neutrality  but  the  Meathmen 
were  under  the  ever-faithful  Malachy.*  From  the  friendly 
Scots  of  Caledonia  came  a  contingent  under  Donal,  great-steward 
of  Mar.f  When  all  these  forces  were  assembled  there  must  have 
been  not  less  than  20,000  assembled  under  the  command  of  the 
old  warrior  King. 

In  bringing  together  the  Danes,  nobody  was  more  active 
than  Gormfleth.  Since  Maelmorra's  visit  to  Kincora,  she  was 
repudiated  by  Brian  and  had  become  so  "  grim  "  against  him 
that  she  wished  him  dead  .J  She  had  sent  her  son,  Sitric,  to  the 
Danish  leaders  to  beg  their  assistance,  bidding  him  agree  to  any 
terms  which  they  might  demand.  From  Norway  and  Denmark, 
from  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Isles,  from  Northumbria  and 
Man,  from  Skye  and  Lewis  and  Cantire  and  Cornwall,  these 
Northmen  came.H  The  two  best  known  of  their  leaders  were 
Brodir  of  Man  and  Sigurd,  Earl  of  Orkneys.  Both  made  it  a 
condition  to  be  acknowledged  King  of  Ireland  if  Brian  was 
defeated  and  slain,  and  also  to  get  Gormfleth  in  marriage,  and 
to  each  Sitric  secretly  made  the  required  promise.**  The  lady 
was  now  old  ff  and  had  been  already  the  wife  or  mistress  of  three 
kings  in  succession  by  each  of  whom  she  was  repudiated,  and 
it  is  unlikely  that  either  Brodir  H  or  Sigurd  were  attracted  by 
her  doubtful  virtue,  or  coveted  her  faded  charms.  But  both 
these  chiefs  were  ambitious  ;  they  expected  to  found  a  kingdom 
in  Ireland  as  their  countryman,  Sweyn,  had  in  England  ;  and 
for  this  design  the  aid  of  Gormfleth,  the  mother  of  the  King  of 
Dublin,  and  sister  of  the  King  of  Leinster,  would  be  useful.  By 
Palm  Sunday  (10 14)  the  Danes  and  Leinstermen  were  assembled 
in  Dublin  and  the  whole  surface  of  Dublin  Bay  was  covered  with 
their  ships.  Their  united  forces  were  at  least  as  large,  perhaps 
larger,  than  those  of  Brian,  and  these  daring  Northmen  were 
experienced  in  war  ;  yet  some  doubts  were  mingled  with  their 
hopes  of  success  in  the  coming  fight.     Even  their  stern  natures 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  p.    169. 

t  Uid.-,  p.    175. 

X  Burnt  Njal,  Vol.  II.,  p.   324. 

II  Gael  and  Gall  (Introduction,  p.    168,  note). 

**  Burnt  Njal,  pp.   327-8. 

ft  She  must  have  been,  since  herison  Sitric  was  King  of  Dublin  since 
his  father  went  to  lona  in  980 — thirty-four  years  before  these  events. 

XX  Brodir  had  been  a  Christian,  but  had  renounced  Christianity  {Burnt 
Njal;  329).  Sitric  also  appealed  to  Brodir's  brother  Ospak,  but  he  refused 
to  fight   "  against  so  good  a  King  "  as  Brian. 


It6  history   of   IRELAND. 

were  not  inaccessible  to  superstition  ;  their  Skalds  and  prophets 
were  held  in  the  greatest  reverence,  and  in  certain  wondrous 
events,  which  lately  happened,  they  feared  they  read  the  signs 
of  impending  disaster.  Brodir  and  his  men  saw  a  shower  of 
blood  fall,  a  battle  in  the  air  was  witnessed  between  birds,  swords 
and  spears  were  seen  in  the  sky  wielded  by  invisible  hands*  ; 
in  Iceland  a  priest,  saying  Mass,  had  his  vestments  stained  with 
blood  ;  and  in  Caithness,  twelve  Valkyries  were  seen  in  a  bower, 
weaving  out  of  men's  entrails,  with  swords  as  shuttles,  the  grim 
woof  of  war.f 

Boldly  taking  the  offensive,  Brian  had  already  marched 
towards  Dublin  and  plundered  the  district  of  Fingal  from 
Dublin  to  Howth.  This  district  was  inhabited  by  Danes,  and 
their  friends  in  the  city  beheld  with  anger  the  ruin  of  their 
kinsmen's  homes,  and  hastened  their  preparations  for  battle. 
They  knew  also  that  Brian  had  sent  his  son,  Donogh,  to  Wicklow 
with  a  portion  of  his  forces  and  that  Donogh  had  not  yet  returned, 
and  moreover,  a  prophecy  urged  them  not  to  delay,  for  Brodir, 
who  was  skilled  in  sorcery,  had  foretold  X  that  if  the  battle  were 
fought  on  Good  Friday,  Brian  would  fall,  but  if  on  any  other 
day  his  foes  would  all  fall,  and  so  Good  Friday  was  fixed  upon. 
The  city  of  Dublin  was  then  altogether  south  of  the  Liffey,|j 
?nd  on  the  sloping  plain,  north  and  east  by  the  Tolka,  and  the 
sea,  extending  to  Clontarf  and  beyond  it,  the  whole  Danish 
army  encamped  on  Thursday  evening.  On  the  rising  ground, 
near  Phibsborough,  was  a  wood  called  Tomar's  Wood,  and  in 
front  of  this  and  facing  the  Danes,  the  Irish  army  encamped. 
On  the  Danish  side  a  renowned  champion  named  Plat  sent  a 
challenge  to  single  combat  to  the  Irish  camp,  which  was  accepted 
by  Donal,  Great  Steward  of  Mar  :  and  as  the  two  armies  stood 
facing  each  other  on  Friday  morning,  the  two  champions  met. 
Advancing  from  his  own  side,  Plat  shouted  "  Where  is  Donal  ?  " 
and  Donal's  answer  came  back,  "  reptile,  I  am  here."  With 
the  two  armies  as  spectators,  the  combat  was  fought  and  both 
Plat  and  Donal  soon  fell,  each  mortally  wounded.**  The  battle 
then  became  general.  Each  army  was  in  three  divisions.  The 
Danish  left  wmg  on  the  Tolka,  consisting  of  the  Dublin  Danes, 
and  a  thousand  Norwegians  in  coats  of  mail,  was  commanded 

*  Burnt  Njal,  Vol.  II.,  pp.   330-33I- 

t  Ibid.j  pp.   337-343- 

Brian  also  had  his  warning  for  the  family  Banshee  of  the  DalcassianSj 
Evan  of  Craiglee,  appeared  to  him  the  night  before  the  battle  and  revealed 
to  him  that  he  should  be  killed.     (Gael  and  Gall,  p.   201.) 

X  Burnt  Njal,  Vol.  II.,  p.   333. 

II  Joyce's  Short  History  of  Ireland,  p.   217. 

**  Gael  and  Gall,  pp.    175-177. 


THE   DALCASSIAN   KINGS.  117 

by  Amrud  and  Carlus,  princes  of  Denmark  ;  in  the  centre 
Maelmorra  commanded  the  Lienstermen,  while  on  the  right 
the  foreign  Danes  were  under  Brodar  and  Sigurd.  Facing  the 
Dublin  Danes  on  the  Irish  right,  were  the  Dalcassians  under 
Murrogh,  in  the  centre  were  the  Munstermen  under  Cian  and 
Donal,  Conaing  and  Mothla  ;  on  the  left  were  the  Connaught- 
men  under  O'Heyne  and  Teige  O' Kelly.* 

Before  the  battle  began,  Brian,  mounted  on  a  battle-charger 
and  with  a  cross  in  his  hand,  rode  in  front  and  solemnly  addressed 
the  army,  bade  them  remember  all  that  the  Danes  had  done, 
that  in  fighting  them  they  fought  for  their  country  and  their 
faith,  that  they  were  fighting  on  the  day  on  which  the  Saviour 
of  the  world  had  died,  and  that  He  would  be  with  them  in  the 
fight.  Inspired  by  these  words,  they  rushed  upon  the  foe.  It 
was  Good  Friday,  the  twenty-third  of  April,  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  just  as  the  tide  was  at  its  full.  There  was  no  cavalry 
in  either  army,  nor  can  we  discern  any  system  of  tactics  according 
to  which  masses  of  men  make  or  resist  attack.  The  battle  was 
rather  a  series  of  single  combats  in  which  personal  prowess  was  the 
deciding  element.  Each  clansman  gathered  round  his  own  standard, 
and  his  chief,  as  he  was  first  in  peace,  was  also  first  in  danger, 
and  in  valour,  and  among  his  foes  sought  out  some  chief  whom 
he  marked  as  his  antagonist  and  his  victim.  It  was  a  fiercely 
contested  fight.  Morning  passed  into  mid-day,  mid-day  to 
evening,  the  tide  had  ebbed  and  again  was  flowing,  but  the 
battle  still  raged.  Standards  had  fallen,  the  ranks  were  fatally 
thinned,  the  ground  was  thickly  covered  with  the  dead  and 
wounded,  yet  neither  side  would  give  way  and,  even  as  the  sun 
descended,  both  Celt  and  Dane  still  faced  each  other  in  that 
grim  death  struggle.  On  the  left,  Teige  O' Kelly  and  O'Heyne 
with  many  a  gallant  Connaughtman  were  dead,  and  the  great 
Sigurd  himself  was  among  the  slain.  In  the  centre,  Conaing 
and  Maelmorra  had  slain  each  other,  and  numbers  of  brave 
Munstermen  had  fought  their  last  fight.  On  the  right,  the 
slaughter  was  great,  for  in  no  part  of  the  battle  was  the  contest 
more  fiercely  waged.  The  dead  lay  in  heaps,  and  on  the  blood- 
soddened  earth  the  mail-clad  Norwegian  and  the  hardy  veteran 
from  the  Fergus  and  the  Shannon,  after  their  fierce  encounter, 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  pp.  171-197.  Joyce's  Short  History,  pp.  218-25.  Four 
Masters.  Annals  of  Loch  Ce.  Lady  Ferguson's  The  Irish  before  the 
Conquest,  pp.  'i.jyjj.  The  arrangement  of  the  various  divisions  has 
been  taken  from  Lady  Ferguson.  It  allows  Morrogh  to  remain  at  the 
post  of  greatest  danger,  that  is  near  Duvgall's  Bridge,  where  he  was 
liable  at  any  moment  to  be  attacked  by  fresh  troops  from  the  city^ 
and  it  leaves  Sigurd  on  the  right  wing  of  his  own  side,  in  easy  communi- 
cation with  his  vessels  in  the  Bay — a  likely  arrangement. 


I  I  8  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

slept  together  peacefully  in  death.  Towards  evening  Murrogh, 
whose  battle-axe  had  brought  down  many  a  foeman,  encountered 
in  single  combat  the  Norwegian  prince  Amrud,*  and  closing 
together  both  fell,  Murrogh  uppermost.  With  his  sword  he 
stabbed  the  foreigner,  who,  before  he  died,  snatched  a  knife 
from  Murrogh's  belt,  mortally  wounding  him.  Amrud  died 
in  a  few  minutes,  Murrogh  lived  till  the  following  day.  Though 
disheartened  by  the  death  of  their  chief,  the  Dalcassians  still 
fought  on,  and  at  last  the  Danes  on  all  sides  gave  way.  It  was 
then  past  six  o'clock,  the  Danish  ships  were  being  carried  out 
by  the  ebbing  tide,  and  the  Danes,  unable  to  reach  them,  retreated 
by  the  shore  and  across  the  Tolka  to  the  Liffey,  then  spanned 
by  Duvgall's  Bridge.  Many  perished  in  the  sea,  m?ny  in  crossing 
the  Tolka,  but  most  of  all  between  the  Tolka  and  the  Liffey, 
for  at  this  point  they  encountered  Malachy  and  his  troops. 
Malachy  had  come  to  Clontarf  to  fight,  but  his  magnanimity 
forsook  him  ;  he  refused  to  aid  Brian  in  reaping  fresh  glory, 
and  during  the  day,  on  a  rising  ground  between  the  Tolka  and 
the  Liffey,  he  sullenly  held  aloof,  an  idle  spectator  of  the  combat. 
But  the  temptation  to  attack  the  retreating  and  hated  Danes 
was  too  great  to  be  resisted  ;  he  swooped  down  upon  them  and 
cut  off  their  retreat  by  Duvgall's  Bridge.  His  troops  were  fresh 
while  the  Danes  were  wearied  by  twelve  hours  incessant  fighting. 
Their  resistance  was  feeble  ;  they  were  slaughtered  in  hundreds, 
and  many  who  escaped  the  battle-axe  or  the  sword  were  drowned 
in  trying  to  cross  the  river,  f 

In  his  tent,  a  little  in  front  of  Tomar's  Wood,  Brian  remained 
during  the  day  and  asked  his  attendants  from  time  to  time  how 
the  battle  went.  He  was  told  that  all  was  confusion,  that  there 
was  a  noise  as  if  seven  battalions  were  cutting  down  Tomar's 
Wood,  but  that  Murrogh's  standard  still  fxOated  and  that  heads 
were  falling  wherever  it  was  borne.;]:  Brian  was  satisfied,  declaring 
that  while  Murrogh's  standard  floated,  it  would  go  well  with 
the  men  of  Erin.  Again,  towards  the  close  of  the  day,  he  inquired 
and  was  informed  that  it  looked  as  it  Tomar's  Wood  were  on 
fire,  the  brushwood  destroyed,  a  few  stately  trees  only  remaining 
— the  soldiers  had  fallen,  a  few  only  of  the  chiefs  were  left,  and 
Murrogh's  standard  was  down.  It  was  doleful  news,  for  the 
old  King  had  centred  the  hopes  of  his  house  in  Murrogh,  and 
when  he  was  dead  he  protested  he  did  not  wish  to  survive.  His 
wish  was  soon  granted.  His  bodyguard  had  gone  in  pursuit  of 
the|fiying  Danes,  and  Brodir  and  a  few  followers  hiding  in  the 

*  Gael  and   Gall,    p.  195.    Introduction,   p.  174.     He  is  called  son  of 
EbriCj  son  of  the  King  of  Lochlan,  and  again  son  of  the  King  of  France. 
t   Joyce,  pp.   220-22.     Note  3. 
+  Gael  and  Gall,  pp.    197-201. 


THE   DALCASSIAN   KINGS.  II9 

wood  noted  the  unprotected  tent,  rushed  in,  and  with  a  single 
stroke  of  his  battle-axe  clove  in  the  King's  skull.*  Now,  he 
said,  "let  man  tell  man  that  Brodir  killed  Brian."  The  Dane 
was  quickly  surrounded  and  taken  prisoner,  and,  according  to 
the  Norse  Saga,  his  body  was  cut  open  and  his  entrails  slowly 
wound  out  of  him  and  thus  he  died.f 

In  that  age  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  battle  in  which  the 
losses  were  so  heavy,  in  proportion  to  the  numbers  engaged. 
A  moderate  estimate  places  the  loss  on  the  Irish  side  at  4000 
and  on  the  Danish  side  at  least  7000.  Sca.rce  any  of  the  leaders 
were  left,  and  it  was  this  loss  the  Irish  had  most  reason  to  bewail. 
Alone  of  all  their  kings,  Brian  was  able  to  crush  the  Danes 
and  to  repress  the  turbulence  of  the  native  chiefs.  His  death 
loosened  the  bonds  that  held  these  chiefs  together  :  the  death 
of  Murrogh  blighted  the  hope  of  a  peaceful  succession  and  of 
a  strong  central  government :  after  Clontarf  native  unity  and 
strength  were  over,  and  the  reign  of  discord  and  chaos  was  about 
to  begin. 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  p.  203.   Brodir  at  first  passed  him  by,  thinking  he  was 
a  priest. 

t  Burnt  Njal,  Vol.  II.,  p.   2>2>7- 


CHAPTER    X. 

A  Long    Period    of    Discord. 

Condition  of  the  Irish  forces  after  Clontarf — Discord  among  the  Chiefs — 
Donogh  O'Brien  and  the  King  of  Desmond — Magillapatrick  of  Ossory — 
Malachy  becomes  Ardri — His  death — Wars  of  Donogh  O'Brien — 
His  reign  as  King  of  Munster — Turlogh  O'Brien  succeeds  him — The 
Kings  of  Tirowen — Long  struggle  between  Donal  O'Loughlin  of 
Tirovven  and  Murtogh  O'Brien  of  Thomond — Wars  among  the  lesser 
Chiefs — The  Dublin  Danes — Career  of  Turlogh  O'Connor — Aedh 
O'Loughlin    becomes    Ardri — Succeeded    by    Roderick    O'Connor. 

When  Donogh  O'Brien  returned  to  Dublin,  on  Easter  Sunday,  the 
great  battle  was  over,  and,  as  he  viewed  the  battlefield,  thickly 
strewn  with  unburied  corpses,  and  mingled  with  the  survivors 
of  the  fight,  he  could  estimate  the  losses  and  gains.  Without 
doubt,  the  invaders  had  been  worsted,  the  dreams  of  Brodir  and 
Sigurd  to  found  a  Danish  kingdom  in  Ireland  had  come  to 
nought,  and  of  those  foreigners,  whom  love  of  plunder  or  glory 
had  attracted  from  so  many  lands,  the  greater  number  had 
fallen  in  the  battle.  So  much  the  Irish  had  gained,  but  these 
gains  were  counterbalanced  by  losses  which  were  irreparable. 
Brian,  his  son  Morrogh,  his  grandson,  Turlogh,*  his  nephew, 
Conaing — all  had  perished  on  that  fatal  field,  and  of  the  many  sons 
that  once  were  his,  only  Donogh  and  Teige  survived.  So 
thinned  were  the  Irish  ranks,  so  exhausted  the  survivors,  so 
numerous  the  wounded  that  if  again  attacked  by  a  strong  force 
they  must  inevitably  have  suffered  defeat.  Nor  were  the  Danes 
altogether  crushed.  The  garrison  of  Dublin  had  suffered  nothing 
and  the  numbers  in  the  city  were  largely  increased  by  fugitives 
from  the  battle.       Sitric  f   was  so  strong,  that  Donogh  felt  un- 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  p.  193.  He  was  son  of  Morrogh,  and  was  but  fifteen 
years  of  age.  He  was  drowned  at  the  Weir  of  Clontarf,  i.e.^  in  the  Tolka, 
"  with  a  foreigner  in  his  right  hand  and  a  foreigner  in  his  left  hand  and 
a  stake  of  the  weir  through  him."  Such  is  the  language  of  MacLiag.  It 
is  easy  to  see  that  he  was  a  poet. 

t  Sitric,  with  portion  of  the  troops,  did  not  take  part  in  the  battle 
but  watched  it  from  the  battlements  of  the  city.     {Gael  and  Gall,  p.  209). 


A    LONG   PERIOD   OF   DISCORD.  121 

able  to  attack  him  ;  he  was  even  emboldened  to  demand  portion 
of  the  oxen  which  Donogh  had  taken  as  plunder  from  Wicklow, 
and  threatened  to  attack  him  if  his  demands  were  not  complied 
with.  But  Donogh  set  his  menaces  at  defiance  and  Sitric  was 
awed  into  inactivity.*  For  several  days  the  Irish  were  em- 
ployed in  burying  their  dead  ;  the  bodies  of  thirty  chiefs  were 
despatched  to  their  own  territories,  there  to  receive  a  chief t?in's 
funeral  honours  ;  f  and  the  monks  of  Swords  took  charge  of 
the  bodies  of  Brian  and  Morrogh,  and  had  them  conveyed  to 
Armagh.  For  twelve  days,  ofBces  and  Masses  were  said  for 
the  souls  of  Brian  and  his  son,  and,  at  length,  in  the  Cathedral 
of  Armagh,  amid  all  the  pomp  and  splendour  of  the  Church's 
liturgy,  the  body  of  the  greatest  of  the  Irish  kings  was  laid  to 
rest.| 

After  Brian's  death  the  flames  of  discord  were  soon  kindled. 
On  the  return  home  from  Clontarf,  Cian  of  Desmond  laid  claim 
to  the  throne  of  Munster,  contending  that  by  the  rule  of  alternate 
succession,  the  Munster  throne  should  now  be  filled  by  a  prince 
of  the  race  of  Eoghan.  Donogh  denied  these  claims,  protested 
that  the  rights  of  Desmond  under  the  will  of  Oliol  Olum  had 
been  extinguished  by  the  conquests  of  Brian,  that  the  Dalcassians 
had  acquired  their  right  to  the  Munster  throne  by  force,  and 
by  force  they  were  ready  to  maintain  it.  The  southern  forces 
had  then  reached  Mullaghmast,  a  fortified  place,  six  miles  from 
Athy,  and  Donogh,  in  expectation  of  attack,  proposed  to  put 
the  wounded  within  the  shelter  of  the  fort,  an  arrangement 
which  the  wounded  refused  to  accept.  They  were  determined 
to  take  their  share  in  the  coming  battle,  stuffed  moss  into  their 
open  wounds,  and,  like  their  unwounded  comrades,  were  pre- 
pared to  meet  the  enemy,  sword  in  hand.  ll  Ci?n  relied  for 
support  on  Donal,  chief  of  the  Ui  Eochach,**  and  Donal  was 
willing  to  assist  him,  but  he  would  play  no  disinterested  part. 
Like  Cian,  he  was  of  the  race  of  Eoghan  ;  he  was  of  a  younger 
branch,  but  primogeniture  was  not  recognised  ;  his  father 
Dubhdavoren  had  in  fact  been  King  of  Munster,  or,  at  least 
King  of  Desmond,  and  he  thought  his  right  to  that  position 
was  at  least  as  strong  as  that  of  Cian.  Yet  he  would  join  him 
against  the  Dalcassians,  but  only  on  condition  that  whatever 
territory  was  conquered,  should  be  equally  divided  between 
them.  To  this  Cian  would  not  consent,  the  attack  on  Donogh 
O'Brien  was  abandoned,  and  before  the  year  had  expired  Donal 

*  Gael  and  Gall,  p.   211. 

t  Ibid.,  p.   213. 

+  Lanigan,  Vol.  III.,  p.  425. 

II  Gael  and  Gall,  p.   215. 

**  Ibid.,  pp.  248-9.    Introduction,  p.  193 — Genealogical  Table,  iv.- 


122  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND 

and  Cian  went  to  war,  in  which  Cian  was  defeated  and  slain.* 
Donogh's  troubles  were  not  yet  over.  Passing  by  Athy,  his 
wounded  dressed  their  wounds  and  rested  by  the  banks  of  the 
Barrow,  and  here  another  enemy  awaited  them — Donogh,  son  of 
Gillapatrick — Prince  of  Ossory  with  his  whole  army  drawn  up 
in  battle  array.  This  prince  remembered  that  his  father  had 
once  been  put  in  fetters  by  Brian  Boru,  and  that  his  own  territory 
of  Ossory  had  been  wasted  and  plundered  by  the  same  king, 
the  previous  year,  and  to  glut  his  vengeance  he  now  determined 
to  fall  on  Donogh  O'Brien's  attenuated  ranks.  He  offered  the 
alternative  of  submission  or  battle,  and,  without  hesitation, 
Donogh  O'Brien  accepted  battle.  The  wearied  soldiers  gallantly 
supported  their  chief,  and  the  wounded  displayed  a  heroism 
which  has  rarely  been  equalled.  They  insisted  on  fighting, 
directed  that  stakes  should  be  cut  in  the  neighbouring  wood 
and  driven  in  the  earth,  and  that,  as  they  were  unable  to  stand, 
a  wounded  soldier  should  be  tied  to  each  stake,  his  arms  in?- his 
hands,  an  unwounded  soldier  on  each  side  of  him,  and  thus 
would  they  met  the  foe.  Such  heroes  are  rarely  conquered.  The 
Ossory  men  were  awed  at  the  sight,  perhaps  intimidated  by 
such  heroism  ;  they  desisted  from  the  attack,  and  the  Dalcassians 
were  allowed  to  pursue  their  journey .f  When  they  reached 
home,  the  loss  in  the  battle  and  on  the  march  had  so  decimated 
them,  that  Donogh  had  less  than  one  thousand  men  under 
his  command. 1 

Without  any  formal  election  Malachy  became  Ardri.  His 
hereditary  rights  could  not  be  overlooked,  his  services  against 
the  Danes  were  remembered,  and  when  Brian  was  gone  there 
was  nobody  who  could  successfully  compete  with  him  for  the 
supreme  honour.  But  this  recognition  by  the  native  chiefs 
was  only  partial  and  incomplete  ;  he  was  tolerated  rather  that 
recognised  ;  and,  among  the  sons  of  Brian  especially,  it  was 
their  impotence  alone  that  restrained  them  from  contesting 
his  right  by  force.  The  submission  of  the  Northern  princes — 
Tiro  wen,  Tirconnell  and  Uladh — was  more  cordial,  but  even 
they  felt  little  enthusiasm  for  one  whom  an  ambitious  rival  had 
once  dethroned.  But  whatever  others  thought,  the  Danes 
had  good  reason  to  feel  that  his  vigour  and  energy  were  un- 
impaired, and  that  he  was  still  as  much  to  be  feared  as  when  he 
overwhelmed  them  at  Glenmama  and  at  Duvgall's  Bridge. 
Joined  by  Flaherty  O'Neill  of  Tirowen,  he  defeated  the  Dublin 
Danes  (lo  15),  destroyed  the  fortress  of  Dublin,  and  burned  the 

*  Annals  of   Ulster ^   10 14.      Four  Masters,   1013. 
■f  Gael  and  Gall,  p.   217. 

+  The  Irish  before  the  Conquest,  p.  281.  Lady  Ferguson  gives  the 
exact  number  as  850. 


A   LONG   PERIOD   OF   DISCORD.  1 23 

greater  part  of  the  city.  Two  years  later,  he  entered  Leinster, 
wasted  the  district  of  Hy-Kinsella,  again  defeated  the  Danes, 
and  compelled  Leinster  to  pay  tribute.*  A  short  time  before 
his  death,  he  entered  a  lonely  retreat — Cro-Innis,  in  Lough 
Ennell,  near  Mullingar,  where  he  spent  his  last  years  in  penance 
and  mortification,  and  where  he  died  (i022.)|  After  Malachy's 
death,  supreme  power  passed  for  a  time  into  the  hands  of  two 
men,  Corcran,  an  anchoret,  and  Con  O'Loughlin,  Chief  Poet  :j: 
and  this  order  of  things  remained  until  Con  died  (1024),  or  rather 
until  he  was  killed,  ||  for  like  many  other  rulers  his  end  was 
brought  about  by  violence.  What  was  the  nature  and  extent 
of  the  jurisdiction  possessed  by  these  two  men  is  not  clear  ;  one 
of  the  annalists  informs  us  that  the  country  was  governed  "  like 
a  free  state."**  To  make  a  poet  and  an  anchoret  rulers  of  a 
country  was  certainly  an  unusual  arrrngement,  and  perhaps 
not  a  wise  one,  but  it  shows  that  amid  all  the  discord  and  war 
and  violence  that  prevailed,  respect  for  religion  and  sanctity  still 
survived. 

Since  Clontarf  the  career  of  Donogh  O'Brien  had  been  a 
troubled  one.  His  brother,  Teige,  was  the  elder  brother,  and  the 
chiefs  of  Thomond,  respecting  the  claims  of  age,  for  the  most 
part  sided  with  him.  But  Donogh  had  his  own  followers  and 
was  unwilling  to  be  content  with  a  subordinate  position. 
Ultimately,  war  broke  out  between  the  brothers,  and  for  years 
this  fratricidal  struggle  was  prolonged.  Tempted  by  the  divisions 
between  the  sons  of  Brian,  Donal  of  Desmond  with  a  large  force 
entered  Thomond,  designing  to  conquer  that  province.  For 
the  time  Donogh  and  Tiege  suspended  their  quarrels  and  united 
against  the  invader.  Donal  was  defeated  and  slain,ft  (1015), 
and  instead  of  Thomond  being  conquered  by  Desmond 
Desmond  itself  was  conquered  by  Thomond.  When  this 
was  done,  the  quarrel  between  Teige  and  Donogh  was  re- 
newed and  lasted  until  Teige's  death  (1023.)  In  that  year  he 
was  treacherously  slain  by  O'Carrol  of  Eli-O'Carrol,  at  the  in- 
stigation of  Donogh,:j:J  and  then,  his  hands  reddened  with  his 
brother's  blood,  Donogh  became  King  of  Munster.  With  a 
large  force  he  swept  through  Meath,  Bregia,  Leinster  and  Ossory, 


*  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters.      Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

t  Ogygia,  Part  ill.,  Chap.  93. 

X  0' Curry's  Manuscript  Materials ^  p.  9. 

II  On  those  who  killed  him  God  performed  a  "  poet's  miracle  "  for  they 
died  an  evil  death  and  their  unburied  corpses  were  devoured  by  birds 
and  wolves.      {Annals  of  Loch  Ce.) 

**  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise,  p.   173. 

tt  Annals  of  Ulster.      The  battle  was  fought  at  Limerick. 

XX  Four  Masters. 


124  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

taking  hostages  from  each  province  (1026),*  later  on,  (1034),! 
he  attacked  and  defeated  Breffni,  and  when  the  forces  of  Leinster 
and  Ossory  combined  in  revolt  against  him  (1050),!  he  defeated 
them.  Finally  (1060),  he  defeated  the  Connaught  men,  and 
compelled  Rory  O'Connor  to  give  him  hostages.  In  war  he 
had  almost  reached  the  position  once  held  by  his  father.  Nor 
was  he  undistinguished  in  peace.  He  enacted  salutary  laws, 
sternly  repressed  robbery,  caused  the  Sabbath  to  be  observed  ; 
and  when,  in  the  famine  of  1050,  his  Munster  subjects  in  their 
distress  seized  on  the  property  of  the  Church,  he  convoked  a 
Synod  of  the  prelates  and  lords  of  Munster  and  enacted  laws, 
"  which  speedily  checked  the  wide-spreading  sacrilege  and  averted 
the  anger  of  God."||  In  his  old  age  troubles  fell  thick  upon 
him.  His  brother  Teige  had  left  a  son,  Turlogh,  who  had  been 
fostered  at  the  court  of  Dermot  Maelnambo,  King  of  Leinster. 
Dermot  was  married  to  Donogh's  daughter,  but  the  ties  of  kindred 
were  as  nothing  compared  to  the  ties  of  affection,  between  Dermot 
and  his  foster  son.  He  watched  over  the  boy  with  the  greatest 
care,  became  the  guardian  of  his  interests  and  the  champion 
of  his  claims,  contending  on  his  behalf  that,  as  the  son  of  Teige, 
he,and  not  Donogh,was  the  rightful  heir  to  the  Munster  throne. 
Dermot  sacked  Waterford  (1030),  ravaged  Ossory  (1042),  carried 
off  captives  and  cattle  from  the  Deisi  (1048),  laid  Limerick  and 
Iniscaltra  in  ashes  (1058),  and  defeated  Donogh  himself  (1061) 
at  Slieve  Crut  in  Tipperary.**  While  Donogh  was  engaged 
defending  himself  against  his  powerful  adversary,  the  King  of 
Connaught  entered  Thomond,  committed  great  depredations 
and  laid  the  palace  of  Kincora  in  ruins .ff  These  accumulated 
disasters  weakened  the  power  and  broke  the  spirit  of  Donogh. 
He  was  now  old  and,  feeling  unable  to  contend  against  all  his 
enemies,  and,  perhaps,  anxious  to  atone  for  his  crimes,  he  went 
on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome  and  died  there  (1064).  He  is  said 
to  have  presented  the  crown  and  sceptre  of  Munster  to  the 
reigning  Pope,  and  these  were  afterwards  presented  by  Adrian  IV. 
to   Henry   II.   of  England. JJ 

Under  the  guardianship  of  Dermot  Maelnambo,  Turlogh 
O'Brien  became  King  of  Munster,  and  in    these  circumstances 

*  Four  Masters.      Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

t  Ibid. 

X  Four  Masters  at   1049. 

II  Cambrensis  Eversus,  Vol.  II.,  p.  41.  The  Four  Masters  say  Xhdit 
"  peace  and  good  weather  "  was  the  consequence  of  this  law. 

**  Cambrensis  Ev.,  p.  43. 

W  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  at  the  year  1061. 

%X  From  this,  supposing  it  true,  it  has  been  sometimes  argued  that  the 
Pope  acquired  dominion  over  Ireland  and  was  acting  within  his  rights 
when  he  conferred  it  on  Henry  II. 


A   LONG   PERIOD   OF   DISCORD.  1 25 

Dermot  might  be  considered  the  most  powerful  among  the 
Irish  kings,  and  in  fact  is  sometimes  numbered  among  the 
Ardris.*  He  had  already  subdued  the  Deisi  and  Waterford, 
carried  off  captives  from  Meath,  received  homage  from  Connaught 
(1066),  and  scourged  the  Danes  so  much,  that  "  from  Dublin 
to  Allen  was  one  scene  of  conflagration."  But  his  career  of 
conquest  was  closed  (1072),  for,  in  that  year,  he  was  defeated 
and  slain  by  O'Mellaghlin  of  Meath.  At  his  death,  without 
any  opposition  from  any  quarter,  Turlogh  O'Brien  became 
supreme  ruler  of  Leath  Mogha.  This  did  not  satisfy  his  ambition, 
and  he  proceeded  to  subdue  Leath  Cuin.  Meath  and  Connaught 
gave  him  hostages,  and  with  a  large  army,  with  Leinster,  Meath, 
Connaught,  and  the  Dublin  Danes  he  marched  north  (1075) 
intending  the  subjugation  of  the  northern  province.  The  princes 
of  the  north  encountered  him  at  Ardee  and  utterly  defeated  him, 
so  that  he  had  to  retire  south,  without  hostages  or  prey,  and  "  with 
a  great  slaughter  and  loss  of  his  army."  f  This  defeat  does  not 
seem  to  have  seriously  impaired  his  strength,  for  the  following 
year  (1076),  he  chastised  Hy-Kinsella,  where  some  restiveness 
was  shown,  he  dethroned  the  reigning  King  of  Dublin  and 
put  his  own  son  Murtagh  in  his  place,  and  deposed  the  King 
of  Connaught,  Rory  O'Connor. |  At  a  later  date  (1084),  while 
he  was  occupied  in  Meath,  the  Connaught  princes  entered 
Thomond,"  burned  forts  and  churches  and  carried  off  great  spoils,"]] 
and,  in  the  same  year,  a  formidable  revolt  was  organised  by 
O'Rorke  of  Breffni,  who  was  joined  by  other  malcontent  chief- 
tains. Against  these,  Turlogh  despatched  an  army  under  his 
son,  Murtagh,  and,  near  Leixlip,  O'Rorke  and  his  allies  were 
overthrown  with  the  loss  of  four  thousand  men.**  Murtagh 
captured  O'Rorke,  cut  off  his  head,  and  had  it  posted  up  on  the 
gates  of  Limerick,  ft  When  Turlogh  died  (1086),  he  was  the 
foremost  in  power  and  influence  among  the  Irish  kings,  in 
ability  and  energy,  both  in  peace  and  war,  not  unworthy  of 
the  grandson  of  Brian.  Abroad  also  his  fame  was  great.  By 
Lanfranc,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who  corresponded  with 
him,  he  is  styled  the  magnificent  King  of  Ireland,  and  he  con- 
gratulates the  people  of  Ireland  that  God  had  given  them  such 
a  king. 

Since  the  death  of  Malachy  (1022),   no  prince  of  the   race 
of  Nial  had  been  able  to  reach  the  position  of  Ardri.     Malachy 's 

*  He  is  so  numbered  by  Ware.      Cambrensis  Eversus,   Vol.  II.,  p.  45. 

t  Four  Masters.     Loch  Ce.     An.  Clonmacnoise  at  1073. 

X  He,  (O'Connor),  submitted  to  him  at  least. 

]]  An.  Loch  Ce. 

**  Four  Masters.  The  battle  took  place  at  Monecronock,  near  Leixlip. 

tt  White's  History  of  Clare,  pi  86. 


126  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

son,  Connor  O'Mellaghlin,*  was  certainly  not  destitute  of  capacity, 
but  his  resources,  as  King  of  Meath,  were  small ;  against  his 
most  powerful  rivals  the  O'Briens,  he  could  not  always  hold 
his  own,  and  from  necessity,  rather  than  from  disposition,  he 
had  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  his  southern  rival.  Had 
the  Northern  Hy-Nials  allied  themselves  with  their  kinsmen  of 
Meath,  they  might  have  broken  the  power  of  the  O'Briens, 
but  no  such  alliance  was  formed.  Flaherty  O'Neill  had  helped 
Malachy,  after  Clontarf,  in  his  wars  against  the  Leinstermen 
and  Danes,  but  apparently  was  unwilling  to  give  the  same  help 
to  his  son,  and  there  is  no  further  instance,  except  one,  for  a 
century,  in  which  the  princes  of  the  Northern  and  Southern 
Hy-Nials  made  common  cause.  Nor  were  the  Northern  Hy- 
Nials  f  themselves  always  able  to  agree  ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
were  often  the  bitterest  enemies.  With  a  richer  territory  and 
greater  resources,  Tirowen  from  its  central  position  was  enabled 
to  make  frequent  and  successful  attacks  on  the  neighbouring 
states,  and,  under  a  succession  of  able  chiefs,  it  maintained  its 
ascendancy  throughout  Ulster.  Upon  Tirconnell  and  Uladh 
its  attacks  were  frequent,  and  the  injury  inflicted  often  great. 
Tirowen  ravaged  Tirconnell  (1028),  carrying  off  great  spoils 
three  years  later  ;  Uladh  was  overun  by  the  same  power,  I  and  the 
same  year,  Tirconnell  was  invaded  and  its  King  slain.  These 
events  occurred  while  Flaherty  O'Neill  was  on  a  pilgrimage 
to  Rome,  and  while  his  son,  Aedh,  ruled.  Both  father  and  son 
died  (1033),  but  neither  the  capacity  nor  inclination  to  make  war 
upon  others  expired  with  these  chiefs  ;  and  the  Annals  record 
that  Tirowen  attacked  Tirconnell  (1043).  !1  Again,  under 
Ardgar  O'Loughlin,  the  ruling  chief,  Tirowen  attacked  Dalaraidh, 
and  carried  off  two  hundred  prisoners  and  a  great  spoil  of  cattle, 
and,  extending  the  area  of  his  depredations,  Ardgar  entered 
Connaught  (1062),  and  carried  off  six  thousand  cows  and  one 


*  Early  in  the  eleventh  century,  surnames  came  to  be  used — about 
the  time  of  Brian  Boru.    Instead  of    saying  Connor,  son  of  Malachy,  son 

of   ,    it    became    Connor,  descendant   of    Malachy  or  Maelsachlin  or 

O'Mellaghlin,  a  softened  form  of  Maelsachlin.  The  prefixes  O  and  Mac 
equally  signified  descendant,  and  thus  it  happened  that  Brian's 
descendants  became  O'Brien,  Niall's,  O'Neill  ;  Loughlins,  O'Loughlin, 
or  MacLoughlin  ;  Connors,  O'Connor  ;  Murrogh's,  MacMorrogh. 

t  The  Northern  Hy  Nialls  were  the  princes  of  Tyrone  andTirconnell. 
The  Southern  Hy  Nialls  were  those  of  Meath  ;  all  were  descendants  of 
Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  and  inherited  his  dominions  between  them. 
(Gael  and   Gall,   Gen.   Tables,  p.   245-6.) 

X  Attnals  of  Loch  Ce.  Aedh  O'Neill  on  that  occasion  carried  off  1200 
captives  and  3000  cows. 

11  Four  Masters.     Loch  Ce. 


A   LONG   PERIOD   OF   DISCORD.  1 27 

thousand  prisoners.*  After  these  acts  of  plunder  and  violence 
he  retired  to  Armagh  to  do  penance,  and  there  he  died  (1064), 
and  was  buried  in  the  mausoleum  of  the  kings,  j  In  alliance 
with  the  other  northern  princes,  his  successor,  Aedh,  was  able 
to  defeat  Turlogh  O'Brien  at  Ardee  (1075),  ^^nd  a  few  years 
later  (1080),  Aedh's  successor  (Donal)  defeated  Fermanagh. 
This  Donal  determined  to  become  Ardri,  regarding  Murtagh 
O'Brien,  the  ruling  King  of  Munster,  as  an  usurper,  and  the 
heir  to  the  usurping  Brian.  But  Murtagh  was  not  easily  sub- 
dued. He  was  equally  ambitious  and  easily  powerful  as  Donal, 
and  between  these  two  chiefs — ^both  men  of  the  highest  capacity — 
a  life-long  struggle  was  waged,  a  struggle  fierce,  bitter  and  per- 
sistent and  which,  at  the  close  of  their  lives,  was  undecided  still. 
Donal  ravaged  Uladh  (1084)  and  carried  off  great  spoils, 
and  four  years  later  he  defeated  Rory  O'Connor  of  Connaught, 
and  compelled  him  to  join  him  in  an  attack  on  Munster.  With 
a  large  force  they  advanced  south,  and  taking  O'Brien  unaware, 
they  ravaged  and  plundered  Thomond,  destroyed  Kincora, 
burned  Limerick,  and  brought  away  into  captivity  many  of  the 
Munster  chiefs.  :|:  O'Brien  determined  to  retaliate,  and,  in  the 
following  year  (1089),  in  command  of  a  large  force,  he  sailed 
up  the  Shannon,  plundering  everything  as  he  went  along ; 
but  O'Connor  blocked  his  boats  on  the  river,  O'Mellaghlin  attacked 
him  from  Meath  and  he  had  to  hurriedly  retrace  his  steps. || 
Chastened  by  defeat,  O'Brien  consented  to  meet  in  friendly 
conference  Donal  O'Loughlin,  O'Mellaghlin  and  O'Connor  of 
Connaught,  and  all  agreed  to  acknowledge  Donal  O'Loughlin 
as  Ardri.  But  the  submission  of  Murtagh  was  hollow  and 
insincere,  a  subordinate  position  ill-suited  his  aspiring  talents  ; 
he  merily  wished  to  gain  time  and  on  some  pretext  he  entered 
Meath  (1094),  ^-^id  killed  its  king,  O'Mellaghlin,  and  passing 
on  to  Dublin,  he  defeated  Godfrey,  King  of  the  Danes.  Enraged 
at  this  attack  on  his  ally  of  Meath,  Donal  O'Loughlin  took  up 
arms  and  advanced  south  against  Murtagh  but  the  Archbishop 
of  Armagh  interfered  (1097)  ^^id  succeeded  in  making  peace 
between  them.  Three  times  subsequently,  when  north  and 
south  were  face  to  face,  he  again  made  peace,  but  he  was  not 
aways  successful,  for  both  O'Loughlin  and  O'Brien  were  very 
determined  and  very  difficult  to  restrain.  Determined  once 
and  for  all  to  crush  his  northern  rival,  Murtagh  advanced  up  the 
Shannon  (iioo),  and  marched  his  army  as  far  as  Ballyshannon, 


*  Loch  Ce. 

t  Ibid. 

X  Loch  Ce.    The  Four  Masters  give  the  number  of  captive  chiefs  as  160; 

II  Ibid. 


128  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

while  the  Dublin  Danes,  as  his  allies,  supported  him  from  the 
sea  ;  but  the  expedition  did  not  achieve  its  purpose,  and  the  Danish 
fleet  "  were  cut  off  both  by  drowning  and  killing."*  Undeterred 
by  this  failure,  Murtagh  still  persevered,  and,  with  the  tenacity 
of  the  O'Briens,  he  resolved  to  make  even  a  greater  effort  than 
he  had  yet  done.  Accompanied  by  the  forces  of  Leinster,  Meath 
and  Connaught,  he  went  north  (iioi),  and  O'Loughlin,  unable 
to  cope  with  such  superior  forces,  retreated  before  him.  Murtagh 
overran  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen,  and,  in  revenge  for  the  des- 
truction of  Kincora,  he  demolished  the  royal  palace  of  Ailech, 
directing  his  soldiers  to  carry  away  the  stones  of  the  palace  to 
Limerick. f  Advancing  eastward,  he  received  the  submission 
of  Uladh,  and  at  last  it  seemed  as  if  he  could  truthfully  declare 
he  was  Ardri,  and  had  reached  the  position  once  occupied  by 
Brian  Boru,  for  all  Munster  acknowledged  his  rule  ;  Leinster, 
Meath  and  Connaught  were  fighting  in  his  army,  and  under  his 
command,  Uladh  had  just  given  him  hostages,  and  all  that  re- 
mained was  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen.  Yet  O'Loughlin  was 
unconquered  still.  Wisely  declining  a  contest  with  O'Brien, 
he  waited  until  he  had  gone  southward  and  then  attacked  Uladh 
(1103.)  Murtagh  advanced  to  the  relief  of  his  ally,  and,  unwisely 
dividing  his  forces, he  left  one  division  near  Armagh,  while  himself, 
taking  the  remainder,  attacked  and  plundered  Dalaraidh.  Donal 
seized  the  opportunity  given  him,  fell  on  the  army  encamped 
at  Armagh,  and  completely  routed  them  with  the  loss  of  many 
of  their  chiefs,  taking,  besides,  great  spoils,  including  the  royal 
pavilion  and  standard.  This  was  the  last  occasion  on  which 
these  two  chieftains  fought,  for  on  subsequent  occasions,  X  when 
they  were  preparing  for  battle,  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh  |[ 
made  peace  between  them. 

Though  occupied  for  the  most  part  in  fighting  each  other, 
both  these  kings  had  other  troubles  also  on  hand.  Donal 
attacked  Connaught  (11 10),**  and  plundered  Fingal  (11 12). 
As  to  Murtagh,  he  was  urgently  called  to  Dublin  (1102),  where 
Magnus,  King  of  Norway,  had  landed  with  a  large  invading 
force — perhaps  he  expected  to  succeed,  where  Brodir  and  Sigurd 
had  failed.  With  O'Loughlin  still  unsubdued,  Murtagh  did 
not  wish  to  have  an  additional  enemy  in  Magnus,  and  when 
he  came  to  Dublin,  a  conference  was  arranged  between  them, 
and  instead  of  fighting  there  was  feasting,  instead  of  war  there 

*  Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

t  Four  Masters.    They  carried  away  the  stones  in  their  sacks. 

%  Loch  Ce  at  the  years  1 1 07-9- 1 3 . 

II  This  was  Celsus— the  friend  of  St.  Malachy. 

*  *  Loch  Ce.  He  carried  off  a  thousand  prisoners  and  several  thousands 
of  cattle. 


A   LONG   PERIOD   OF   DISCORD.  1 29 

was  a  wedding.  A  son  of  Magnus  was  married  to  a  daughter 
of  Murtagh,  and  the  two  kings  became  friends.*  Magnus  left 
Dublin,  but  the  next  year  he  landed  at  Uladh,  where  he  was 
defeated  and  slain.  Nor  was  Murtagh,  though  he  often  plundered 
churches,  ungenerous  to  the  church  in  his  own  province.  The 
Four  Masters  record  (iioi),  that  he  made  a  grant  to  a  religious 
order  of  the  royal  palace  of  Cashel,  "  without  any  claim  of  laymen 
or  clergymen  on  it," — a  grant  such  as  no  king  had  ever  made 
before,  f 

Towards  the  close  of  their  lives,  both  Murtagh  and  his 
opponent  retired  to  monasteries.  Murtagh  entered  the  monastery 
of  Lismore,  and  died  there  (i  1 19),  being  buried  at  Killaloe  ;  Donal 
O'Loughlin  entered  the  monastery  of  Derry,  where  he  died 
(1121),  "the  most  distinguished  of  the  Irish  for  personal  form, 
family,  sense,  prowess,  prosperity  and  happiness,  for  bestowing 
of  jewels  and  food  upon  the  mighty  and  the  needy."  % 

While  the  greater  chiefs  were  constantly  engaged  in  war,  so 
also  were  the  minor  chiefs.  The  same  year  that  Flaherty  O'Neill 
of  Tirowen  died  (1033),  it  is  on  record  that  the  O'Mellaghlin's 
of  Meath  quarrelled  and  even  went  to  war  in  which  Murtagh 
O'Mellaghlin  was  victorious  over  his  kinsman,  Connor 
O'Mellaghlin,  and  in  which  several  chiefs  were  slam  ;  the  Eli 
and  the  Hy-Fiacra  Aine  were  at  war,  and  so  also  were  the  Hy- 
Fiacra  of  Ardstraw  and  Fermanagh.  Flan,  son  of  Donal 
O'Mellaghlin,  was  blinded  by  his  brother,  Connor  (1037),  a 
similar  fate  befell  the  King  of  Leinster's  son,  at  the  hands  of 
Magillapatrick  of  Ossory  and  the  Tanist  of  Hy-Kinsella  was 
blinded  by  the  son  of  Maelnambo.||  At  the  year,  1041,  the 
annalist  declares  that  the  events  of  the  year  between  "  slaying 
and  plunderings  and  battles  "  are  so  numerous,  that  he  could 
not  undertake  to  relate  them  all.**  At  105 1,  the  King  of  the 
Deisi  was  blinded  by  the  O'Felan,  the  son  of  Cahal  O'Connor 
of  West  Connaught  was  blinded  by  Aedh  O'Connor,  and 
MacLoughlin  was  expelled  from  the  chieftainship  of  Tullahoge, 
and  Aedh  put  in  his  place.  \\  That  same  year,  Aedh  was  slain 
by  the  men  of  Fermanagh  (1054),  and  the  clan  of  Ui  Meath  J:J: 

*  Fotir  Masters. 

t  Ibid. 

%  Such  is  the  panegyric  of  the  Annals  of  Ulster  in  which  their  partiality 
for  the  northern  prince  can  be  detected. 

II  This  barbarous  and  cruel  torture  was  of  frequent  occurrence  among 
these  Irish  chiefs. 

**  Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

tt  Ibid.     Four  Mastery. 

XX  Partly  in  Louth  (Omeath)  and    partly    in   Monaghan.     Hi    Meath 
Tire  or  Inland  Meath  {Book  of  Rights^  pp.   148-9 — note). 

K 


130  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  defeated  by  the  Ui  Eochach.*  Rory  O'Flaherty  of  lar 
Connaught  was  slain  by  Aedh  O'Connor  (1062),  and  Rory  of 
Fermanagh,  killed  by  O'Rorke  of  Breffni.  O'Kelly  of  Hy-many 
was  slain  by  Aedh  O'Connor  (1065),  and  Aedh  himself  killed 
in  battle  ^1067)  by  Art  O'Rorke  of  Breffni.  f  But  it  is  useless 
to  multiply  instances  ;  the  list  might  be  indefinitely  prolonged. 
Year  after  year,  every  clan  and  every  sept  was  at  war  with  its 
neighbour  ;  from  Innishowen  to  Desmond,  from  lar  Connaught 
to  Athcliath,  there  was  the  same  monotonous  iteration  of  war 
and  plunder  ;  and  disorder  and  discord  were  supreme.  Nor 
were  the  Danes  idle  as  might  be  expected.  The  overthrow 
at  Clontarf  and  their  subsequent  defeats  by  Malachy  had 
diminished  their  resources  ;  no  further  aid  came  from  beyond 
the  sea,  ?nd  they  were  unable  in  consequence  to  profit  by  the 
divisions  and  disorganisation  among  the  native  chiefs.  The 
Dublin  Danes  were  Christian  ;  their  king,  Sitric,  had  built  and 
endowed  a  church  at  Dublin,  and  towards  the  close  of  his  life 
had  gone  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome.  +  Yet,  at  intervals,  these 
Danes  either  plundered  themselves,  or  allied  themselves  for 
purpose  of  plunder  with  some  native  chief.  They  invaded  Meath 
(1027),  but  were  defeated  ;  they  landed  at  Rathlin  (1045)  ^^^ 
killed  three  hundred  of  the  natives,  and  in  alliance  with  Murtagh 
O'Brien,  they  invaded  Ulster.  If  to  this  be  added,  that  they 
occasionally  sacked  a  monastery  or  church,  we  have  exhausted 
the  list  of  their  achievements. 

After  the  death  of  Donal  O'Loughlin  (11 21),  there  was  an 
interval  of  some  years  during  which  there  was  no  Ardri.  No 
prince  of  the  Tirowen,  or  Dalcassian  race,  was  strong  enough  to 
establish  a  supremacy  over  the  whole  island,  nor  indeed  over 
his  own  province.  It  had  become  recognised  that  the  rule  of 
the  stronger  only  should  prevail,  hereditaiy  claims  were  ignored 
and  the\example  of  Brian  had  pointed  out  to  every  ambitious 
adventurer,  that  if  he  was  sufficiently  strong  and  sufBciently 
unscrupulous,  he  might  become  supreme  among  the  Irish  kings. 
Just  such  an  adventurer  appeared  in  the  person  of  Turlogh 
O'Connor.  His  ancestors  had  long  been  kings  of  Connaught : 
it  is  the  testimony  of  O'Donovan  that  no  family  in  Ireland,  or 
even  in  Europe,  can  trace  its  descent  through  so  many 
generations  of  legitimate  ancestors  as  these  s?me  O'Connors.  || 
They  were  a  warlike  race  and  in  the  long  struggle  between  North 
and  South  for  pre-eminence,  they  had  not  been  mere  idle  spec- 
tators.     Turlogh's     father,     Rory,    had    been     taken    prisoner 

*  An  Armagh  clan. 

■]■  Four  Masters.     Lock  Ce. 

\  Laniganj  Vol.  III.,  pp.  432-45 

II  The  O'Conors  of  Connaught^  by  the  O'Conor  Don,  p.  3. 


A   LONG   PERIOD   OF   DISCORD.  13I 

(1092),*  by  his  turbulent  vassal,  O'Flaherty  of  lar-Connaught, 
and  according  to  the  barbarous  practice  of  the  times  had  his 
eyes  put  out.  Disqualified  by  his  blindness  from  continuing 
king — rnd  probably  it  was  this  O'Flaherty  intended — Rory 
retired  to  the  monastery  of  Clonmacnoise,  where  he  died  after 
twenty-six  years  spent  there.|  His  son,  Donal,  became  his 
successor,  but  for  some  reason  he  was  deposed  (i  106)  by  Murtogh 
O'Brien,  and  his  young  brother,  Turlogh,  placed  on  the  throne 
by  the  same  king.  Turlogh  was  then  but  eighteen  years  old  and 
from  one  so  young,  the  Munster  king  expected  that  little  was 
to  be  feared,  and  that  perhaps,  on  the  contrary,  he  might  become 
the  ally,  or  even  the  vassal,  of  Munster.  If  he  expected  this, 
he  grievously  erred,  for  Turlogh  soon  showed  an  independence 
of  character,  which  made  it  plain  that  among  the  Irish  chiefs, 
he  was  not  disposed  to  play  the  role  of  vassal  but  of  master. 
He  co-operated  with  Murtagh  O'Brien  and  Morrogh  O'Mellaghlin 
(i  109)  in  an  attack  on  Breffni,  and  perhaps  it  was  to  punish  him 
for  thus  being  in  alliance  with  the  Munster  king,  that  Donal 
O'Loughlin  entered  Connaught  (11 10),  laid  waste  much  of  the 
province  and  carried  away  three  thousand  prisoners  and  many 
thousand  cattle.  J  Moved  by  discontent,  or  ambition,  a 
Connaught  tribe,  the  Conmaicne,  thought  the  time  opportune 
for  revolting  against  Turlogh,  but,  at  the  battle  of  Ross  (iiio), 
Turlogh  defeated  them  with  the  loss  of  many  of  their  chiefs. || 
Next  year  he  plundered  Fermanagh,  a  little  later  (1113),  he 
was  the  ally  of  Murtagh  O'Brien  against  O'Loughlin  of  Tirowen, 
but  two  years  later  (1115),  he  entered  Thomond  and  plundered 
it  as  far  as  Limerick.** 

Turlogh's  prowess  was  soon  recognised  by  all  Connaught, 
the  chastisement  inflicted  upon  the  Conmaicne  had  blighted 
the  hopes  of  brooding  revolt,  and  neither  O' Kelly  nor  O'Flaherty, 
the  two  most  powerful  of  the  Connaught  chiefs,  even  once  during 
his  long  reign  presumed  to  be  numbered  among  his  foes.  But 
to  be  King  of  Connaught  did  not  satisfy  Turlogh's  ambition, 
and  secure  of  the  allegiance  of  his  own  province,  he  meditated 
conquests  beyond  the  Shannon.     His  military  resources  were  not 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  Ibid.  It  seems  from  the  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  that  he  had  taken 
Orders. 

X  Four  Masters. 

II  The  Conmaicne  dwelt  in  the  north  of  the  County  of  Galway,  i.e.-,  the 
present  barony  of  Dunmore,  at  least  the  branch  of  the  tribe  that  fought 
Turlogh.  Ross  is  near  Rathcroghan  in  Roscommon,  from  which  it 
seems  evident  that  the  Conmaicne  invaded  Turlogh's  hereditary  territory. 
{Four  Masters  and  Book  of  Rights,  p.    100.) 

*  *  Four  Masters. 


132  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

large,  but  it  was  not  by  superior  strength  he  always  expected 
to  succeed.  To  foster  dissension  in  each  province,  to  set  up 
two  or  three  kings  instead  of  one,  and  to  have  at  least  one  of 
these  his  own  dependent  and  creature,  to  promote  quarrels 
between  chiefs  and  then  to  be  the  decisive  arbiter  ot  their  quarrels, 
to  ally  himself  with  Breffni  against  Leinster,  and  with  Breffni 
and  Leinster  against  Munster — these  were  the  means  he  v/as 
ready  to  employ,  and  by  these  means  he  reached  pre-eminence. 
He  entered  Meath  (1115),  interposed  in  a  quarrel  between  the 
O'Mellaghlins,  set  up  two  kings,  instead  of  one,  and  got  sub- 
mission from  both,  and  about  the  same  time  made  an  alliance 
with  O'Rorke  of  Breffni,  and  then,  joined  by  his  allies  of  Meath 
and  Breffni,  he  entered  Munster  and  measured  swords  with 
the   Dalcassians.* 

The  time  was  opportune  for  his  designs.  The  once  dreaded 
Murtagh  O'Brien  was  a  penitent  at  Lismore,  and,  among  the 
monks  of  that  famous  monastery,  he  had  ceased  to  think  of 
wars  and  battles,  and  in  feebleness  and  old  age  was  concerned 
only  about  the  interests  of  his  soul.  His  brother,  Dermot, 
who  filled  the  throne  since  his  abdication  had  just  died  (11 18), 
and  some  confusion  might  probably  arise  as  to  the  succession  to 
the  vacant  throne.  Turlogh  joined  by  Morrogh  O'Mellaghlin 
and  O'Rorke  of  Breffni  entered  Munster,  wasted  and  plundered 
as  far  as  Glanmire  in  Cork,  and,  reviving  the  old  rule  of  alternate 
succession,  cut  Munster  in  two,  giving  Desmond  to  MacCarthy, 
who  was  the  representative  of  Eoghan,  and  Thomond  to  Connor 
O'Brien,  f  On  his  way  north  he  passed  by  Kincora  and  wishing 
to  humiliate  the  O'Briens,  and  to  be  revenged  for  all  his  family 
and  province  had  suffered  at  their  hands,  he  levelled  the  palace 
to  the  earth,  and  cast  it  ,both  wood  and  stone,  into  the  Shannon. 
Before  the  year  expired,  he  had  got  submission  from  Leinster 
and  Ossory  and  the  DulDlin  Danes,  and  had  reached  a  position 
of  authority  and  influence  never  reached  by  a  Connaught  King. 
Almost  every  year  for  several  successive  years,  he  marched  with 
an  army  into  Munster,  sparing  neither  churches  nor  territory 
on  his  march,  and  it  is  especially  recorded  that  with  MacMorrogh, 
King  of  Leinster,  and  Magillapatrick  of  Ossory  and  the  Dublin 
Danes  he  passed  down  the  Shannon  with  a  great  fleet,  and  th?t 
he  and  his  allies  remained  for  a  time  at  Killaloe  "  consuming 
the  provisions  of  Munster."  J  The  next  year  he  disagreed  with 
his  ally  O'Mellaghlin,  entered  his  territory  which  he  ravaged  and 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  Ibid.      O'Flaherty's  Ogygta,  Part  III.,  Chap.  67: 
The    MacCarthy's,    when    surnames    began    to    be    used,    were    the 
principal  of  the  Eoghanact  tribes  in  Munster. 
X  Four  Masters,  at  the  year  11 19. 


A   LONG   PERIOD   OF   DISCORD.  1 33 

expelled  him  from  Meath  ;  and  when  Donal  O'Loughlin  of 
Tirowen  came  to  O'Mellaghlin's  aid  he  temporised,  made  peace 
with  O'Loughlin,  and  for  a  time  O'Mellaghlin  was  unmolested. 
But  Turlogh  O'Connor  only  waited  for  a  better  opportunity, 
and  when  Donal  O'Loughlin  was  dead,  joined  with  O'Rorke 
of  Bref^ni,  he  entered  Meath  (11 26),  and  instead  of  one  king 
of  Meath,  he  set  up  three.*  Meantime  he  had  built  bridges 
over  the  Shannon — at  Athlone,  and  Shannon  Harbour  on  the 
Shannon,  and  at  Ballinasloe  on  the  Suck — and  in  the  manner 
of  the  ancient  Ardris  held  the  fair  of  Teltown  (11 20)  thus  in- 
dicating his  title  to  the  monarchy  of  all  Ireland. f  He  marched 
to  Dublin  (11 26),  and  installed  his  son,  Connor,  as  King  of 
Dublin  and  Leinster,  then  ravaged  Ossory,  defeated  MacCarthy 
of  Desmond  and  burned  his  camp  near  Kilkenny,  established 
for  months  his  headquarters  at  Ormond,  and  laid  waste  the 
surrounding  country.  J  Division  had  weakened  the  Munster 
forces,  but  though  they  were  weakened  they  were  not  yet  subdued, 
and  these  repeated  depredations  would  have  roused  to  action 
a  less  spirited  race  than  the  Dalcassians.  O'Brien  fitted  up 
a  fleet  on  the  Shannon  and  fought  (11 27),  a  naval  battle  with 
O'Connor  in  which,  however,  Munster  was  beaten,  and  hence- 
forth Turlogh,  on  the  Shannon,  was  unmolested  and  supreme. || 
As  long  as  Desmond  and  Thomond  continued  to  quarrel  they 
were  both  plundered,  for  they  were  helpless  at  the  mercy  of 
a  ruthless  enemy  ;  but  at  last  (i  132),  they  united  in  self-defence, 
marched  into  Connaught,  killed  Cathal,son  of  Cathal  O'Connor, 
royal  heir  of  Connaught,  demolished  the  fortresses  of  Galway 
and  Dunmore,  and  plundered  a  great  part  of  the  country.** 
Through  the  influence  of  the  clergy,  a  conference  was  held  in 
Westmeath,  between  the  Connaught  and  Munster  kings,  peace 
was  made,  and  Munster  was  allowed  a  period  to  recover  from 
her  many  disasters.  During  all  these  years,  the  Connaught 
king  made  but  one  attack  (at  1 1 30)  on  Ulster  when  he  attacked 
it  from  the  sea, and  plundered  Tory  Island  and  the  coastof  Donegal. 
The  next  year,  O'Loughlin  and  the  Ulster  forces  entered 
Connaught  ;  the  Connaughtmen  retreated,  then  detached  a 
portion  of  their  forces  and  attacked  the  rere  of  the  Ulster 
army  near  the  Curlew  Mountains,  and  the  invaders  were  de- 
feated  with   heavy  loss,  and   were   glad   to  conclude  peace. 

War  was  so  widespread  in  1 145,  that  the  Four  Masters  lament 
that     "  Ireland   was   a   trembling   sod,"   but     they   might    have 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  Ibid.      O'Donovan's  Note. 

X  Four  Masters. 

II  Ibid.     Turlogh's  fleet  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  vessels; 

**  Ibid.,  at  1 1 32.     Loch  Ce,  1133. 


134  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

written  the  same  of  almost  any  other  year  at  that  time.  War 
was  everywhere.  In  the  north,  every  two  clans  fought,  and 
scarce  a  year  passed  that  a  quarrel  did  not  arise  between 
Tirconnell  and  Tirowen.  Neither  the  memory  of  their  common 
ancestors  nor  considerations  of  personal  interest  were  able 
to  restrain  them.  In  the  south  no  sooner  did  the  Munster 
princes  make  peace  with  Turlogh  O'Connor  (1133),  than  they 
hastened  to  make  war  upon  each  other,  and  in  1135,  "many 
of  the  men  of  Desmond  fell  by  those  of  Thomond."*  A  little 

later  (1137),  Connor  O'Brien  and  Dermot  MacMorrogh,  King 
of  Leinster,  captured  Waterford  and  defeated  MacCarthy,  King 
of  the  Deisi  and  Connor  O'Brien  did  homage  to  MacMorrogh.j 
Connaught  was  at  war  with  Meath  and  Breffni,  and  Connor 
O'Brien  preyed  upon  Connaught  (1142)  ;  his  succssor,  Turlogh, 
acted  similarly  in  the  following  year  ;  O'Mellaghlin  was  at  war 
with  Breffni  (1145),  and  with  Fermanagh,  while  the  Munster 
men  entered  Connaught,  carried  off  Tiege  O'Kelly  of  Hy-Many 
into  captivity,  and  killed  Rory  O'Flaherty  of  lar-Connaught. 
Five  years  later  (11 50),  they  again  entered  Connaught  and 
demolished  the  stone  castle  of  Galway.J  The  fickle  and  capricious 
character  of  an  Irish  chieftain's  allegiance  in  these  days  is  illus- 
trated by  the  conduct  of  O'Rorke,  who,  in  1137,  joined  Meath 
against  Connaught,  then  submitted  to  Turlogh  O'Connor  and 
attacked  Meath  (11 38),  two  years  later,  was  the  ally  of  Meath 
against  Connaught,  and  again  submitted  to  Turlogh,  even  joined 
him  in  dismembering  Meath,  of  which  he  got  a  third  share, 
and  finally  (i  145),  the  Four  Masters  record  that  he  again  turned 
against  Connaught. 

During  these  latter  years,  Turlogh  O'Brien  of  Thomond 
had  been  gaining  ground,  and  his  attacks  on  Connaught  es- 
pecially were  so  frequent  and  vexatious,  that  Turlogh  O'Connor 
determined  to  chastise  him.  In  alliance  with  Meath  and  Mac- 
Morrogh, and  at  the  invitation  of  Teige  O'Brien  of  Desmond, 
he  entered  Munster  (11 52),  and  at  Moanmore,  near  Emly,  he 
met  the  forces  of  Turlogh  O'Brien.  That  prince  was  returning 
from  a  plundering  expedition  in  Desmond  and  had  nine  thousand 
men  under  his  command.  O'Connor's  forces  were  superior 
but  not  braver  ;  the  Dalcassians  fought  with  desperate  energy  ; 
they  were  willing  to  die  but  not  to  yield  ;  nor  did  they  until 
they  were  almost  exterminated.  Turlogh's  son  and  heir  was 
killed,  two  of  the  O' Kennedys,  eight  of  the  O'Deas,  nine  of 
the    O'Shanaghans,  five  of  the  O'Quins,  five  of  the  O'Gradys, 

*   Four  Masters.     The  battle  was   fought   in   the  present   County   of 
Tipperary. 
t  Ibid. 
1  Ibid. 


A   LONG   PERIOD   OF   DISCORD.  I35 

twenty-four  of  the  O'Hogans,  four  of  the  O'Hehirs,  five  of  the 
Hearnes — ^all  chiefs  of  the  Dalcassians,  besides  these,  seven 
thousand  lay  dead  or  wounded  on  that  disastrous  field  ;  and 
all  that  remained  of  Turlogh  O'Brien's  army  was  one  shattered 
battalion.  The  defeated  Turlogh  was  deprived  of  his  throne, 
and  his  place   given  to  Teige  O'Brien.* 

Thomond  and  Desmond  ruled  by  his  creatures,  Turlogh 
O'Connor  might  reasonably  believe  that  his  hold  on  Munster 
was  secure,  and  little  dreamt  that  he  was  about  to  endure  the 
greatest  humiliation  of  his  life  ;  yet  so  it  happened.  The  deposed 
Turlogh  O'Brien  made  his  way  to  Tirowen  and  begged  the 
assistance  of  Aedh  O'Loughlin,  its  king  ;  and  the  ambitious 
Northern  was  flattered  at  seeing  the  descendant  and  heir  of 
Brian  Boru,  a  suppliant  in  his  palace.  He  resolved  to  assist 
him,  and  to  attack  Turlogh  O'Connor,  who  was  then  in  West- 
meath.f  His  movements  were  rapid  and  skilful  ;  O'Connor  was 
taken  off  his  guard  and  was  disastrously  defeated,  and  was  com- 
pelled to  give  hostages  to  O'Loughlin,  who  now  claimed  to  be 
Ardri.  Teige  O'Brien  was  deposed,  and  his  eyes  put  out  (1153), 
and  Turlogh  was  restored  to  the  throne  of  Desmond.  I  Turlogh 
O'Connor's  submission  to  O'Loughlin  was  merely  nominal, 
and  the  next  year  (i  i  54),  with  a  strong  fleet  he  attacked  Tirowen 
from  the  sea.  As  the  northern  king  had  no  fleet,  or  at  least 
no  adequate  fleet,  he  brought  Danish  mercenaries  from  the 
Scotch  and  Manx  coasts,  and  off  the  coast  of  Innishowen  the 
battle  was  fought.  The  Connaught  force  was  victorious,  but 
their  commander  was  killed  ;  the  Danish  ships  were  captured. 
This  was  the  last  battle  fought  by  Turlogh  O'Connor. ||  He 
died  (11 56),  and  was  buried  as  he  had  requested  beneath  the 
high  altar  of  St.  Kieran  at  Clonmacnoise.  His  death  removed 
the  foremost  figure  from  the  theatre  of  Irish  affairs,  one  who 
for  nearly  fifty  years  had  been  concerned  in  all  the  great  events 
that  had  happened,  and  in  most  of  which  his  was  the  controlling 
influence.  In  his  own  province  his  loss  was  most  keenly  felt, 
for  these  Connaughtmen  were  proud  of  their  king,  who  had 
raised  them  to  such  pre-eminence,  and  who  from  his  palace  at 
Rathcroghan  had  imposed  his  will  on  so  many  princes  beyond 
the  Shannon.  In  all  his  wars  they  readily  supported  him,  for 
he  usually  led  them  to  victory,  and  often  returned  from  his  wars 
laden  with  the  spoils  of  Munster  and  Meath.  Nor  was  he  un- 
distinguished   in    peace.     He    sternly    punished    injustice,    not 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  He  had  just  taken  from  Dermot  MacMurrogh  the  faithless  Devorgil, 
wife  of  Tighernan  O'Rorke. 

+  Four  Masters.     White's  History  of  Clare,  p.  102. 
y   The  0' Conors,  p.  43. 


136  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND, 

Sparing  even  his  own  son  ;  he  was  liberal  to  the  monasteries, 
especially  to  Clonmacnoise  ;  he  set  up  a  mint  and  coined  money;* 
he  built  bridges  over  the  Shannon  ;  the  Abbey  of  Cong,  the 
picturesque  ruins  of  which  still  stand  on  the  Corrib,  was  built 
and  endowed  by  him,  and  the  stone  cross  of  Tuam,  and  the 
processional  cross  of  Cong,  show  that  he  encouraged  Irish  art. 
No  king  since  Brian  Boru  had  such  influence  or  power.  Some- 
times he  has  been  called  Turlogh  the  Great,  and  if  we  remember 
the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and  compare  him  with  his  contem- 
poraries, we  may  allow  that    he  has  some  title  to  the  name. 

At  the  death  of  Turlogh,  Aedh  O'Loughlin  received  the  sub- 
mission of  all  the  Irish  Chiefs,  except  Roderick  O'Connor,  the 
new  King  of  Connaught,  who,  instead  of  submitting,  plundered 
Tirowen  from  the  sea  (11 57),  and  Munster  and  Ossory  from 
land,t  but  in  Meath  he  was  defeated  by  the  Ardri  (11 59),  and 
was  compelled  to  submit.  O'Loughlin  then  became  undisputed 
Ardri,  and  unity  of  government  at  last  appeared  ;  but  he  soon 
showed  that  he  was  unworthy  of  his  position,  and  by  an  act 
of  treachery  and  cruelty  he  lost  both  his  throne  and  his  life. 
In  one  of  the  many  expeditions  with  which  he  harassed  Uladh, 
he  had  taken  Dunleavy,  its  chief,  prisoner  (1165),  and  he  had 
deposed  him.  On  his  release,  Dunleavy  made  his  way  to 
O'Carroll  of  Oriel,  whom  he  knew  to  be  the  Ardri's  special  friend, 
and,  at  O'Carroll's  request,  Dunleavy  was  restored  to  his  position. 
But  he  gave  ample  guarantees  of  future  good  behaviour,  gave 
hostages,  including  his  own  daughter,  and  with  mutual  promises 
and  oaths  to  which  O'Carroll  was  a  party,  peace  was  established 
between  Uladh  and  Tirowen.  J  Yet,  in  defiance  of  these 
promises  and  oaths,  the  Ardri,  in  the  following  year,  made 
an  unprovoked  attack  on  Uladh,  wasted  and  ravaged  the  district, 
carried  away  Dunleavy,  prisoner,  and  cruelly  put  out  his  eyes. 
Enraged  at  this  perfidy,  O'Carroll  hurriedly  raised  an  army, 
fell  with  fury  on  the  Ardri,  and  at  Letterluin,  in  the  present 
county  of  Armagh,  O'Loughlin  was  defeated  and  slain  ;  ||  and 
thus  ingloriously  perished  the  last  Ardri  of  the  race    of  Nial. 

Disgusted  with  O'Loughlin's  conduct,  the  native  chiefs  no 
longer  looked  to  Tirowen  for  a  leader,  and,  with  singular  un- 
animity, they  agreed  to  give  to  Roderick  O'Connor  the  hostages 
which  he  sought.  Tirconnell,  Breffni,  Meath  and  the  Dublin 
Danes  submitted  to  him,  and  at  Dublin,  whither  he  had  marched, 
Roderick  was  inaugurated  king,  "  as    honorably  as    any    king 

*  Healy's  Ancient  Schools  and  Scholars,  p.  547- 
t  Four  Masters. 

X  Ibid.      Besides  his  daughter  he  gave  him  a  son  of  every  chieftain 
in  his  province. 
11  Four  Masters. 


A   LONG   PERIOD   OF   DISCORD.  137 

of  the  Gael  was  ever  inaugurated."*  Ossory  and  Leinster,  and 
all  Munster  at  once  recognised  him,  and  he  was  allowed  without 
protest,  and  apparently  with  approval,  to  divide  Tirowen  between 
Nial  O'Loughlin  and  Aedh  O'Neill,  f  He  convoked  at  Athboy 
^1167),  a  great  council  of  princes  and  ecclesiastics,  where  many 
useful  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  entire  country 
were  made,  and  the  members  of  which  separated — an  unusual 
thing  in  these  days — "  without  controversy  or  battle."  |  The 
following  year  (1168),  he  celebrated  the  Fair  of  Teltown — the 
last  time  it  was  ever  celebrated — with  unusual  magnificence, 
the  horsemen  present  being  so  numerous  that  they  extended 
nearly  seven  miles.  ||  Weary  of  war,  it  seemed  at  last  that 
the  energies  of  the  people  were  to  be  directed  into  peaceful 
channels,  that  the  reign  of  discord  was  over,  and  the  reign  of 
unity  and  peace  was  about  to  dawn. 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  He  also  divided  Munster  between  O'Brien  and  Dermot  MacCarthy. 
+  The  whole  of  the   gathering   and   assembly   was    1 3  000   horsemen 
{Four  Masters^ 
II  Four  Masters. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Decay  of  Religion  and  Learning. 

Prosperous  state  of  the  Church  at  the  close  of  the  eighth  century — Ravages 
of  the  Danes — Churches  and  schools  destroyed^  resulting  in  injury 
to  religion  and  demoralisation  of  the  people.  Monastery  lands  seized 
by  native  chiefs — Lay  Abbots — Irish  scholars  of  the  ninth  and  tenth 
centuries — Dicuil,  Dungal,  Scotus  Erigena,  etc. — Unity  of  Govern- 
ment under  Brian  Boru — Temporary  improvement  in  religion  and 
learning — After  Clontarf,  state  of  Ireland  worse  than  ever — The  Bards- 
Schools  and  scholars  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries — Abuses 
in  the  church — Letters  of  Lanfranc  and  St.  Anselm — What  St.  Bernard 
wrote — Reforms  effected  by  St.  Malachy. 

The  three  centuries  which  succeeded  the  life  and  labours  of 
St.  Patrick  make  up  the  most  flourishing  period  in  the  history 
of  the  xA.ncient  Irish  Church.  With  marvellous  rapidity  that 
Church  had  passed  from  infancy  to  maturity,  the  little  mustard 
seed  had  become  a  mighty  tree  under  the  shade  of  vi^hich  dwelt 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Scots — brehons,  bards,  princes, 
children  against  the  wishes  of  their  parents,  slaves  despising 
the  menaces  of  their  masters.*  In  the  sixth  century  many 
great  monasteries  aro=c,  where  the  best  of  the  Irish  fasted  and 
prayed  and  learned  and  taught;  the  whole  country  seemed  turned 
into  a  vast  religious  camp,  and  before  the  century  closed,  zeal 
for  souls  and  enthusiasm  in  God's  service  had  sent  Columba 
to  convert  the  Picts  f  and  Columbanus  to  practise  austerity 
and  shed  the  light  of  his  example  under  the  shadow  of  the  Vosges 
mountains.!  The  celebrity  of  the  Irish  schools  became  so  great, 
that  in  the  two  succeeding  centuries  from  the  Saxons  and  Franks 
numbers  of  students  came  to  study,  and  while  on  so  many  con- 
tinental  lands   barbarism   and     ignorance     held   sway,    Ireland 

*  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  p.  369.  This  happened  in  St; 
Patrick's  lifetime — that  the  slave  became  a  Christian,  while  the  master 
remained  a  pagan. 

t  Reeves'  Adamnan,  p.  j-i). 

X  Monks  of  the  West ;  Book  VIII; 


DECAY   OF   RELIGION    AND    LEARNING.  1 39 

deserved  to  be  called — as  she  has  been  by  a  great  English  writer 
— the  School  of  the  West.*  Nor  was  there  any  evidence  at  the 
close  of  the  eighth  century  that  the  vigour  of  the  Irish  Church 
was  impaired.  Her  schools  flourished  as  in  their  palmiest  days. 
There  were  so  many  Saxon  students  at  Armagh,  that  one-third 
of  the  city  was  called  the  Trian  Saxon  or  Saxon  Third  ,t  and  the 
Four  Masters  record  the  death,  during  the  eighth  century,  of 
many  of  her  famous  scholars.  Dungal,  whose  knowledge  of 
theology  and  Sacred  Scripture  was  so  remarkable,  and  who, 
against  Claudius  and  the  Western  Iconoclasts,  was  the  greatest 
champion  of  orthodoxy,  had  but  recently  left  the  School  of 
Bangor,  \  and  if  we  wish  to  know  in  what  estimation  Clonmac- 
noise  was  held  even  at  the  Court  of  Charelmagne,  we  have  but 
to  read  the  letter  of  Alcuin  to  Colgu,  one  of  the  professors  at 
Clonmacnoise.  ||  The  Paschal  controversy  was  long  since  over, 
for  the  obstinacy  of  the  Northern  monks  had  at  last  yielded  to 
the  persuasive  eloquence  of  Adamnan,**  and  if  the  Pelagian 
heresy  had  ever  flourished  in  Ireland,  or  was  being  revived  in 
the  seventh  century,  as  Pope  Honorius  seems  to  have  feared,  ff 
their  is  no  mention  of  it  in  the  native  Annals,  nor  in  the  complaints 
made  from  time  to  time  against  Irishmen  abroad.  Nor  is  it 
likely  that  orthodoxy  would  have  sought  for  a  champion — as 
it  did  in  the  case  of  Dungal — amongst  men  who  came  from  a 
church  tainted  and  vitiated  by  heresy.  The  Irish  Church,  it 
was  apparent,  had  attained  to  age,  without  losing  the  freshness 
or  vigour  or  energy  of  youth,  and  all  the  indications  were  that 
she  was  entering  on  a  career  of  renewed  prosperity,  and  that 
the  glory  of  her  future  would  not  be  overshadowed  even  by  the 
glory  of  her  past.  Yet,  so  fallible  is  human  foresight,  that  she 
was  just  about  to  enter  on  a  period  of  decay,  when  her  very 
life  was  to  be  imperilled,  for  the  tempest  of  Danish  invasion, 
which  had  swept  with  fury  over  so  many  lands,  just  burst  on 
the  coasts  of  Ireland. 

A  Danish  writer,  with  a  laudable  desire  to  defend  the  memory 
of  his  ancestors,  has  endeavoured  to  show  that  the  Danes  were 
not  so  bad  as  they  are  represented  to  have  been,  and  that,  as 
to  their  ferocity  and  fanaticism,  the  verdict  of  history  has  been 
too  severe.  He  indignantly  denies  that  they  carried  away 
and  destroyed  so  many  manuscripts,  which  would  be  quite 
useless     for     them,    written      in    a     language     they     did    not 

*  Boswell's  Johnson,  chap.   32. 

t  Healy,  p.   119. 

%  Ibid.,  p.   390.       Lanigan,  chap.  20. 

II  Usher's  Sylloge. 

**,Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History ;  Book  V.,  chap.  15. 

ft  Usher's  Sylloge. 


I40  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND 

understand.*  They  promoted  trade  and  coined  money  f 
and  in  these  respects  especially  were  above,  rather  than 
below,    the    Irish    in    civilization.  Ledwich,     an     Irishman, 

goes  further  still.  He  states  it  as  certain,  "  from  every  evi- 
dence supplied  from  antiquity,"  that  Ireland,  when  the  Danes 
came  had  no  stone  buildings,  ^  and  that  the  well-known 
Round  Towers  were  the  work  of  Danish  hands — "  the  Ostmen 
began  them  and  they  were  imitated  by  the  Irish."  ||  This  latter 
assertion — that  the  Danes  built  the  Round  Towers — might  be 
admitted,  if  the  distinction  is  remembered  between  an  ef^cient 
and  an  occasional  cause  :  these  towers  were  built  by  the  Irish 
because  of  Danish  depredations  and  to  serve  as  a  refuge  against 
their  attacks.  Ledwich  was  a  learned  man,  but  his  veracity 
was  not  equal  to  his  learning,  his  prejudices  against  the  Ancient 
Irish  were  strong,  and  neither  his  bold  assertions  nor  Worsae's 
zealous  advocacy  can  avail  on  behalf  of  the  Danes.  The  judgment 
of  history  has  too  many  facts  in  its  support  and  that  judgment 
is,  that  the  Danes  built  up  nothing  and  knew  only  how  to  destroy. 
It  is  well  known  that  wherever  they  landed,  robbery  and  murder 
followed,  and  that  their  raven  banner  was  the  symbol  of  deso- 
lation and  ruin.  Nor  were  they  less  ferocious  in  Ireland  than 
elsewhere,  and  in  Ireland,  as  in  other  countries,  their  fury  was 
directed  most  against  Christian  churches  and  monasteries  and 
for  the  extirpation  of  Christianity  itself.  Of  their  various 
attacks  on  the  several  monasteries  the  records  are  necessarily 
incomplete,  for  in  that  age  of  turmoil  the  machinery  of  scholar- 
ship was  disorganised.  Yet  in  the  native  Annals,  incomplete 
though  they  be,  we  find  that  Armagh  was  plundered  six  times 
in  the  ninth  century  and  three  times  in  the  tenth,**  and  that 
during  the  same  period  Clonmacnoise  was  plundered  four  times, 
Glendalough  twice,  Bangor,  Clonard,  Kells  and  Clooneenagh 
once  each,  and  Kildare  five  times.  What  took  place  at  Bangor 
and  Armagh  will  illustrate  the  injury  done,  for  these  are  types 
of  the  ruin  effected  elsewhere.  In  Bangor  (824),  the  monastery 
was  plundered,  the  oratory  broken  into  and  the  relics  of  St. 
Comgal,  the  founder,  shaken  from  the  shrine  in  which  they  were 
placed,  and  the  shrine  itself  carried  away.  Armagh  was  plun- 
dered (832),  three  times  in  one  month,  a  few  years  later  (839) 
its  oratory  and  cathedral  were  burned  ;    it  was  again  plundered 

*  Worsae ;  The  Dalies  and  Norwegians  in  England,  Scotland  and 
Ireland,  p.   301. 

t  Ibid.,  p.   334. 

+  Antiquities,  pp.    141-3. 

II  Ledwich's  Antiquities,  p.   288.     Petrie's  Round   Towers,  p.  9. 

**  Four  Masters,  at  the  years  830-39-43-50-67-9I)  920-34-51,- 
&c.,  &c. 


DECAY   OF   RELIGION   AND  LEARNING  I4I 

and  burned  (867),  with  its  oratories,  all  its  property  and  wealth 
that  could  be  carried  was  carried  away,  and  one  thousand 
persons  were  either  killed  by  the  sword,  or  driven  into 
the  burning  buildings,  where  they  were  suffocated  ;  later 
still  (890)  it  was  again  plundered,  seven  hundred  of  its  in- 
habitants were  taken  into  captivity  and  its  church  and 
oratory  were  destroyed. 

The  monastic  character  of  the  Ancient  Irish  Church  has 
been  often  noted.*  It  was  in  the  monasteries  and  by  them  that 
the  whole  work  of  education  was  carried  on,  for  the  Bardic 
schools  were  the  only  other  schools  and  they  were  not  in  the 
ninth  and  tenth  centuries  of  much  account,  and  were  never 
an  unmixed  blessing"f  In  the  monasteries  the  monk  toiled  and 
prayed  ;  there  were  the  churches,  there  lived  the  priests  who 
ministered  to  the  people  outside,  and  there  also  was  the  bishop, 
whose  episcopate  was  not  yet  diocesan,  and  whose  jurisdiction, 
was  limited  to  the  monastery  and  its  immediate  surroundings. 
When  these  monasteries  were  violently  invaded,  their  schools 
destroyed,  their  books  torn,  or  drowned,  their  scholars  and 
teachers  gone,  their  altars  overthrown,  or  desecrated,  their 
chalices  turned  into  pagan  drinking  cups,  their  priests  murdered, 
or  at  least  dispersed,  and  hiding  in  woods  and  caves,  the  work 
of  conserving  and  propagating  the  Christian  religion  became 
well  nigh  impossible  and  the  danger  seemed  not  remote  that 
the  light  of  the  Gospel,  which  had  burned  so  brilliantly  and  so 
long,  was  about  to  be  finally  extinguished.  The  material  damage 
done  to  the  churches  was  in  many  cases  repaired,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  know  which  to  marvel  at  most — the 
grim  persistence  with  which  the  Danes  attacked  the 
monasteries,  or  the  equally  remarkable  persistence  with 
which  the  Irish  repaired  them.  But  mere  material  damage  was 
not  the  greatest  injury  done  to  the  Irish  Church.  In  the 
corruption  of  manners,  the  neglect  of  religion  and  the  general 
demoralisation  of  the  people,  her  wounds  were  deeper  still.  The 
whole  energies  of  the  people  were  turned  to  war,  the  fatal  clan 
system,  so  fruitful  of  discord,  still  flourished,  and  the  weapons 
which  should  have  been  turned  against  the  invader  were  as  often 
turned  against  each  other.  The  quietness  and  the  seclusion 
of  monastic  life  soon  lost  their  attractions  for  a  warlike  race  ; 
amid  strife  and  bloodshed  neither  sanctity  nor  religion  could 
flourish  ;  even  monks,  forgetting  that  their  vocation  was  one 
of  peace,  mingled  in  the  fray,  and  not  alone  fought  the  invader 

*  Cambrensis  Eversus^  Vol.  III.,  p.  463.   Monks  of  the  West,  Book  VIII. j 
chap    3. 

t  Douglas  Hyde ;    Literary  History  of  Ireland,  p.  4883 


142  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND, 

but  even  fought  each  other.*  Reverence  for  monasteries  and  their 
inhabitants  declined;  and  not  once,  but  often,  did  a  native  and 
Christian  chief  plunder  and  rob  as  ruthlessly  as  the  pagan  Dane. 
During  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  Clonmacnoise  f  was 
sacked  and  plundered  by  native  chiefs  no  less  than  eight  times, 
Armagh,  Glendalough,  Clooneenagh  and  Kildare  once  each  ; 
and  the  Annals  record,  at  the  year  848,  that  a  native  chief 
(Cinaedh,  son  of  Conaing  of  Cianachta-Breagh)  burned  the 
oratory  of  Treoit,  with  two  hundred  and  sixty  persons  who  had 
sought  shelter  within  its  sacred  walls. 

St.  Patrick  has  spoken  with  enthusiasm  of  the  generosity 
of  the  Irish  of  his  own  time,  how  they  came  and  cast  upon  the 
altar  even  their  personal  ornaments,  though  his  love  of  poverty 
precluded  him  from  accepting  all  their  gifts.  %  In  succeeding 
ages  the  same  generous  spirit  survived.  Each  chief  felt  proud 
to  have  a  monastery  on  his  territory  which  he  generously  endowed 
with  land.  The  chief  of  Ely  O'Carrol,  for  instance,  gave  his 
own  residence  for  a  monastery, ||  Turlogh  of  Thomond  richly 
endowed  Killaloe**  and  such  examples  were  not  rare.  Up  to  the 
coming  of  the  Danes  these  monastic  possessions  were  respected 
and,  except  in  rare  and  isolated  cases,  did  not  excite  the  agress- 
sive  cupidity  of  the  native  chiefs.  But  the  havoc  wrought  by 
foreign  invasion  and  domestic  strife  weakened  the  influence  of 
religion  and  the  Church  lands  came  to  be  regarded  by  many  of 
the  chiefs  with  a  hungry  eye.  While  they  had  a  member  of  their 
own  family  in  Holy  Orders,  who  could  act  as  abbot,  the)^  were 
content  to  let  the  monastery  alone,tf  but  when  the  clerical  vocation 
was  not  vouchsafed  to  one  of  their  kindred,  under  the  specious 
plea  of  guarding  the  monastery  against  the  Danes,  they  boldly 
took  possesson  of  its  lands  and  even  assumed  the  name  and 
exercised  the  authority  of  abbot.  During  the  ninth  century, 
there  was  a  lay  abbot  at  Ross.  |+  In  many  other  monasteries 
the  same  system  prevailed,  and  at  Armagh,  from  the  early  part 
of  the  tenth  century,  there  was  for  two  centuries  a  succession 
of  lay  and  married  abbots,  who  presumed  to  act  in  the  name 
of  St.  Patrick  and  with  the  authority  of  the  primatial  See.|||| 

*  Reeves'  Adamnan,  p.  255.  The  Four  Masters  have  suppressed 
these  facts. 

t  Four  Masters,  at  the  years  831-2-4-44,  934-51-60. 

X   Tripartite  Life,  p.   367. 

II  Lanigan,  Vol.  m.,  p.  24. 

**  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  I.,  p.  590.  His  son,  St.  Flannan,  was  its  first 
Bishop. 

It  O'Hanlon,  Life  of  St.  Malachy  O'Morgair,  chap.   13. 

XX  Healy,  p.  493. 

[Ill  Cambrcnsis  Eversus,  Vol.  III.,  p.  404. 


DECAY   OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  1 43 

Such  abuses  as  these  indicate  that  the  Irish  Church  had 
fallen  on  evil  days.  Yet  her  monasteries  and  schools  struggled 
on,  and  with  some  measure  of  success.  Suibne,  who  died  (892), 
and  was  buried  at  Clonmacnoise,  presumably  one  of  its  students 
or  professors,  is  described  by  Florence  of  Worcester  as  the 
"  wisest  and  greatest  doctor  of  the  Scots."*  Dicuil  the  geog- 
rapher, as  he  is  called,  who  lived  in  the  same  century,  another 
scholar  of  Clonmacnoise,  wrote  an  interesting  and  learned  work 
on  Geography  ("  De  Mensura  Orbis  Terrae  ")  ;  f  Cormac,  who 
was  at  the  same  time  King  and  Bishop  of  Cashel,  wrote  a  glossary, 
well  known  to  Irish  scholars  as  "  Cormac's  Glossary,"  and  showing 
that  he  knew  besides  Irish,  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew  ;  J  while 
Maelmurra  and  Flann  and  O'Hartigan  and  O'Flynn  wrote 
works  in  Irish,  some  of  which  still  remain.  ||  Maelmurra  wrote 
a  poem  on  the  Milesian  Immigration,  published  (1847),  by  the 
Irish  Archaeological  Society.  Nine  or  ten  of  O'Hartigan's  poems 
remain,  and  of  O'Flynn  there  are  fourteen  pieces  remaining, 
containing  eighteen  hundred  lines,  and  dealing  with  the  whole 
early  and  mythical  history  of  Ireland.** 

But  if  there  are  few  illustrious  names  in  the  Irish  schools 
at  home,  it  was  not  so  on  the  continent,  where  the  reputation 
of  the  Irish  for  sanctity  and  scholarship  was  still  maintained. 
During  this  period  the  Irish  went  abroad  in  crowds,-f-|-  some 
perhaps  to  indulge  their  curiosity,  for  the  Irish  had  already 
acquired  a  reputation  for  rambling,|J  others  because,  in  a  country 
desolated  by  perpetual  war,  they  could  cultivate  neither  sanctity 
nor  scholarship  and  sought  for  both  in  more  favoured  lands. 
Of  this  latter  class  was  Dungal,  an  Irish  exile  (Hibernicus  Exul), 
as  he  describes  himself. 1|||  Besides  his  labours  against  the  Icono- 
clasts, he  established  a  school  at  Pavia,  which  soon  became  famous 
throughout  Italy,  and  in  the  end  of  his  life  he  retired  to  Bobbio, 
where  he  died  (825).  Donatus,  scholar  and  poet,  died  Bishop  of 
Fiesole  (873).***  Other  Irishmen  were  Marcellus  and  Eusebius, 
monks  in  St.  Gall  ;  Helcis,  Bishop  of  Angouleme,  Columbanus, 
a  monk,  who  wrote  some  verses  for  Charles  the  Bald  ;  another 
Columbanus,  a  century  later,  was  a  monk  at  Ghent  (died  959), 

*  Healy,  p.  274.     In  Florence's  Chronicle  he  is  named  Swifneh. 

t  Ibid.,   p.   281. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  612.     O'Curry's  MSS.  Materials,  pp.  19,  20. 

II  Ibid.,  pp.  617-19. 

**  Hyde's  Literary  History,  pp.  427-30. 

If  Olden;     The  Church  of  Ireland,  pp.  172,  184. 

XX  Lingard's  Anglo-Saxon  Church,  Vol.  II.,  p.  269,  note. 

[Ill  Lanigan,  Vol.  III.,  pp.   259-264. 

***  Ibidt,  pp.  282-3.  On  his  tomb  in  the  Cathedral  verses  written 
by  himself  were  engraved, — he  calls  himself,  "  Scotorum  Sanguine 
cretus." 


144  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Patrick  a  monk  at  Glastonbury,  which  monastery  was  established 
by  Irish  monks  and  in  which  the  great  St.  Dunstan  was  trained; 
and  Irish  monasteries  existed  also  both  at  Cologne  and  Metz.* 
Among  all  the  Irishmen  abroad  during  this  period  the  best 
known  was  John  Scotus  Erigena.  The  time  of  his  birth,  the 
place  in  Ireland  in  which  he  was  born,  the  school  or  schools  in 
which  he  studied,  the  time  and  place  and  manner  of  his  death 
are  all  equally  uncertain.  Among  the  scholars  of  the  ninth 
century  he  stood  high,  among  the  philosophers  he  was  first, 
and  at  Rome,  the  variety  and  extent  of  his  learning — "  a  barbarian 
from  the  ends  of  the  earth  " — was  matter  for  the  greatest  wonder,  f 
A  resident  at  the  court  of  Charles  the  Bald,  a  familiar  and 
favourite  of  that  monarch  and  head  of  the  palace  school,  among 
the  scholars  around  him  so  great  was  his  learning,  that  he  soon 
came  to  be  called  the  Master, J  and  when  the  controversy  raised 
by  Gottschalk  on  predestination  arose,  he  undertook  the  refu- 
tation of  Gottschalk's  errors. ||  Unlike  his  countryman,  Dungal, 
he  relied  too  much  on  reason  and  had  no  great  reverence  for 
authority,  nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  language  of  his  Capitula, 
in  reference  to  predestination,  free  will,  the  effects  of  original 
sin  and  eternal  punishment,  is  at  least  ambiguous  and  difficult 
to  acquit  of  error,**  and  gave  plausible  excuse  for  the  attacks 

*  Lanigan,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  285-320,  etc 

t  Usher's  Sylloge,  No.  24.  "  Mirandum  est  quoque  quomodo  vir  ille 
barbarus  qui  in  finibus  mundi  positus  talia  intellectu  capere  in  aliamque 
linguaux  transferre  valuerit." 

X  Healy,  p.  581.     Lanigan,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  288  et  seq. 

II  Gottschalk  was  a  monk  at  Fulda,  and  had  been  compelled  to  enter 
a  monastery.  He  taught  that  some  were  predestined  to  eternal  life  and 
others  to  eternal  death,  and  therefore  that  God  had  ordained  some  men 
to  be  saved,  and  others  to  be  lost,  a  direct  contradiction  of  the  words  of 
Scripture,  that  God  wishes  all  men  to  be  saved.  (Alzog's  Church  History ^ 
Vol.  II.,  p.  307.) 

**Usher's  Works,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  114,  et  seq.  His  proposition  that  fore- 
knowledge and  predestination  are  the  same  cannot  be  admitted.  God 
does  foresee  that  some  will  be  saved  and  others  lost,  but  the  former  will  be 
saved  by  co-operating  with  grace  and  the  proper  exercise  of  their  liberty, 
the  latter  will  be  lost  by  misusing  their  liberty,  and  failing  to  co-operate 
with  grace.  But  this  is  not  the  same  as  to  say,  that  some  are  eternally 
predestined  to  be  saved  and  others  to  be  lost.  If  foreknowledge  and  pre- 
destination in  both  these  cases  be  the  same,  it  would  be  to  disregard  merit 
and  extinguish  human  liberty.  Nor  again  can  that  proposition  be  ad- 
mitted that,  in  eternal  fire,  there  is  no  pain  but  the  absence  of  felicity, 
eg.,  the  loss  of  God.  This  is  one  element  of  what  is  suffered,  but  does  not 
constitute  all,  for  the  fire  itself  burns  and  causes  torture.  And  that  pro- 
position of  Erigena  is  hard  to  understand  that  in  the  sin  of  Adam^ 
instead  of  all  men  being  tainted  by  it,  what  happened  was  that  each  in- 
dividual will  was  concerned  and  participated  individually  in  that  sin — 
it  looks  like  a  denial  of  original  sin. 


DECAY   OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  1 45 

of  Florus  and  Prudentius.*  Their  acrid  criticisms  have  been 
justly  censured  by  Dr.  Healy,  and  are  less  remarkable  for 
Christian  charity  than  for  coarse  and  even  brutal  invective, 
for  such  terms  as  "  vain  and  garrulous  man,"  "  so-called  scholar 
and  learned,"  "  inventor  of  lies  "  and  others  of  a  like  character 
are  simply  abuse,  utterly  devoid  of  argument,  as  well  as  of  good 
taste,  and  repel  rather  than  attract  conviction.  At  two  councils 
Valence  (855)  and  Langres  (859)  Scotus  was  condemned,  but 
at  the  Synod  of  Tousi  (860!))  that  condemnation  seems  to  have 
been  revoked  .j  Scotus  must  have  been  able  to  explain  what 
he  wrote  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  assembled  bishops,  and  perhaps 
he  attached  to  his  language  a  philosophic  rather  than  a 
theologic  I  significance. 

At  the  request  of  Charles  the  Bald,  he  translated  from  the 
Greek  the  works  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  which  work  also 
did  not  escape  censure,  though  the  language  of  Anastasius 
contrasts  agreeably  with  that  of  Florus  and  Prudentius.  He 
merely  insinuates  that  the  translation  of  Erigena  was  too  literal 
and  ascribes  it  to  the  translator's  humility — not  presuming  to 
depart  from  the  very  words  of  the  original.  ||  The  third  and  last 
work  of  Erigena  was  not  a  translation  but  an  original  work 
and  was  called  "  De  Divisione  Naturae."  In  this  he  certainly 
erred — he  was  guilty  of  Pantheism,  for  throughout  he  identifies 
nature  with  God.  His  death  is  assigned  to  the  year  875. 
Mosheim's  judgment  on  him  was,  that  "  he  was  a  great  and 
excelling  genius  "**  and  Lanigan's,  that  "  he  was  a  good  philo- 
sopher but  a  bad  theologian,"  and  both  judgments  may  be 
accepted  as  correct. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  eleventh  century,  after  a  long 
period  of  darkness,  the  clouds  seemed  to  have  rolled  away  and 
the  prospect  looked  bright  for  Ireland  and  the  Irish  church.  At 
last  unity  of  government  was  established  and  one  strong  man — 
Brian  Boru — governed  the  whole  country.  At  Sulcoit  and 
Scattery  Island  and  Glenmama,  he  had  taught  the  Danes  the 
bitterness  of  defeat,  and  the  Danish  colonies  at  Limerick,  Water- 
ford,  and  Dublin  were  his  obedient,  even  if  unwilling,  subjects. 
The  native  chiefs,  no  longer  allowed  to  make  war  upon  each 
other  with  the    same  recklessness  as  of  old,  stood  in  salutary 

*  Florus  was  a  deacon  at  Lyons  :  Prudentius  was  Bishop  of  TroyeSj 
(Lanigan,    Vol.j  ill.,  p.    292.) 

t  Healy,  p.   583. 

X  He  was  not  in  Holy  Orders,  and  never  studied  theology.  (Laniganji 
Vol.  III.^  p.  288.) 

llUsher's  Sylloge,  No.  24.     Anastasius  was  Papal  librarian  at  Rome. 

*  *  Mosheim's  Ecclesiastical  History  (Murdock  and  Soames),  Vol.  Il.j 
pp.  180,  224-5. 

L 


146  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

awe  of  his  power,  and  Brian,  victorious  over  all  his  enemies, 
was  desirous  to  repair  the  ravages  of  long-continued  war.  For 
the  twelve  years  he  was  Ardri  he  did  much  for  religion  and 
learning.  "  He  sent  professors  and  masters  to  teach  wisdom 
and  knowledge  ;  and  to  buy  books  beyond  the  sea  and  the  great 
ocean  ;  because  their  writings  and  their  books  in  every  church 
and  in  every  sanctuary  where  they  were,  were  burned  and 
thrown  into  water  by  the  plunderers,  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end  ;  and  Brian  himself  gave  the  price  of  learning  and 
the  price  of  books  to  every  one  separately  who  went  on  this 
service."  He  built  many  churches,  and  of  these  there  are  specially 
enumerated  the  churches  of  Inniscaltra  and  Killaloe,  and  the 
bell-tower  of  Tuam  Grene.*  With  regard  to  the  church  of 
Killaloe,  the  opinion  of  Petrie — and  his  opinions  are  never  given 
without  having  good  reason  in  their  favour — is  that,  judging 
from  the  architecture,  the  church  was  built  at  a  much  earlier 
period — probably  in  the  seventh  century  ;  and  as  to  Inniscaltra, 
it  was  merely  restored  by  Brian  and  the  only  part  built  in  his 
day  was  the  chancel  arch.f  Without  adopting  in  full  the  pane- 
gyric of  MacLiag,  it  may  be  admitted  that  Brian's  efforts  were 
not  in  vain,  and  that  a  revival  in  religion  and  learning  did  take 
place  during  the  years  that  he  ruled  as  supreme  king. 

It  was  only  a  temporary  stemming  of  the  tide,  and  after 
Clontarf,  where  Brian  and  so  many  members  of  his  family 
perished,  the  condition  of  Ireland,  like  the  relapsing  sinner, 
became  even  worse  than  before.  Nor  was  there  any  stage  of 
her  history  more  disastrous  for  the  Irish  Church  than  that  long 
period  of  discord  and  anarchy,  which  followed  Clontarf  and 
lasted  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  O'Brien  in  Munster, 
O'Loughlin  in  Ulster,  O'Connor  in  Connaught — each  wished  to 
be  supreme — and,  if  they  could  not  be  supreme  themselves,  they 
were  determined  that  no  one  else  should,  and  so  from  age  to 
age  this  ruinous  struggle  was  carried  on.  The  lesser  chiefs 
imitated  the  greater,  and  the  result  was  universal  war.  As  the 
influence  of  the  clergy  diminished,  that  of  the  bards  increased, 
and  it  was  seldom  used  for  the  interests  of  peace.  A  bard's 
attachment  was  to  his  clan,  his  view  did  not  reach  beyond  its 
limits,  his  talents  were  for  personal  panegyric  or  rude  invective,  | 
he  roused  his  chief  to  war — and  this  was  seldom  necessary  — 
by  recounting  the  warlike  deeds  of  his  ancestors  ;  the  peaceful, 
he  dubbed  as  cowards  or  sluggards,  the  warlike  only  deserving 
of  praise  ;  and  to  a  people  like  the  Irish,  so  much  swayed  by 

*  Wars  of  the  Gael  and  Gall,  pp.  139-41. 

t  Petrie's  Round   Towers,  pp.  281-2. 

%  Walker's  Historical  Memoir  of  the  Irish  Bards,  pp.  30-141. 


DECAY   OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  1 47 

emotion,  his  appeals  were  irresistible.  There  must  have  been 
many  who  saw  in  slaughtered  kinsmen  and  ruined  homes  the 
sad  realities  of  war,  and  who  sighed  for  a  life  of  peace  at  home, 
but  either  the  powerlessness  to  disobey  a  warlike  chief,  the  fear 
of  the  bard's  satire,  or  perhaps  the  vanity  to  receive  his  praises, 
were  too  much  for  them,  and  against  their  better  iudgment, 
they  were  borne  along  by  the  rushing  tide.  To  the  Danes  were 
left  the  business  of  commerce  and  its  profits,  and  what  was  said 
of  them  in  a  later  age  was  at  least  as  true  in  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries — that  the  Irish  knew  no  industry  but  war.* 

This  long  period  of  strife  and  turmoil  was  a  time  of  bitter 
trial  for  the  Church.  In  past  centuries  the  plunder  of  churches 
and  monasteries  was  left,  except  m  some  few  cases,  to  the  Danes, 
but  this  unholy  work  was  now  done  by  native  chiefs  ;  and  when 
O'Brien  invaded  Ulster,  or  O'Connor  went  to  Thomond,  the 
Annals  record  that  they  spared  neither  churches  nor  territory 
on  their  march.f  Within  the  century  after  Clontarf,  Clonmac- 
noise  was  plundered  six  times,  \  Armagh  three  times,  ||  Kells  and 
Ardbraecan  twice,  and  Derry  and  Glendalough  once  each,  nor 
does  this  exhaust  the  list  of  churches  that  suffered  by  native 
hands.  The  Danes  were  weak,  except  at  Dublin  and  Waterford, 
and,  moreover,  had  become  Christians,  and  since  1040,  a  Danish 
bishop  was  at  Dublin;*  *  but  though  they  had  ceased  to  be  pagans 
they  had  not  ceased  to  be  plunderers,  and  amongst  other  churches, 
they  pillaged  Ardbraecan  twice  and  Armagh  once.ff 

Amid  this  wreck  and  ruin  the  monasteries  still  struggled  on, 
some  in  a  precarious  condition,  but  others,  such  as  Clonmacnoise, 
protected  and  endowed  by  Turlogh  O'Connor,  Lismore  patron- 
ised by  the  O'Briens  of  Thomond  and  the  MacCarthys  of  Desmond, 
and  Derry,  where  O'Loughlin  of  Tyrone  died — these,  in  the 
twelfth  century,  enjoyed  a  moderate  degree  of  prosperity.  The 
exodus  of  Irishmen  to  foreign  lands  still  continued,  and  at 
Wurtzburgh,  Fulda  and  Ratisbon  were  monasteries  almost,  if 
not  exclusively,  Irish.  \\  At  Fulda  lived  and  died  (1002), 
Marianus  Scotus,i|||  who  wrote  a  valuable  chronicle  in  Latin,  and 
at  Ratisbon  was  another  Marianus  Scotus  (died  1088),  who 
wrote  a  learned  Commentary  on  the  Scriptures.***      At  home, 

*  Spenser's  View  of  the  State  of  Ireland. 

\  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  at  iioi.     Four  Masters^  112I! 

X  Four  Masters,    1023-44-50-60-95,    1129. 

y  Ibid.,   1074-91,   1 1 12,  etc. 

**  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  Is 

ft  Four  Masters,   1020. 

XX  Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  6. 

nil  Ibid.,  Vol.  III.,  p.  447.      Healy,  p.  2562 

*^*  Ibid.,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  4. 


148  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

also,  there  were  some  distinguished  scholars,  who  wrote  in  Irish; 
Con  O'Loughlin,  a  poet  (died  1024)  "  a  very  distinguished  scholar," 
says  O'Curry;  *  Flann,  who  wrote  the  Synchronisms  of  Flann, 
described  as  "  the  greatest  scholar  of  his  day  | "  and  of  whose 
poetry  two  thousand  lines  are  to  be  found  in  the  Book  of  Leinster 
alone  ;  Thighernach,  most  accurate  and  reliable  of  all  the  Irish 
chroniclers;  O'Malone  (died  1123)  who  wrote  the  Chronicon 
ScotorumX  and  last,  though  first  in  order  of  time,  MacLiag 
(died  1 01 6)  who  wrote  the  Wars  of  the  Gael  and  Gall,  a  work 
inordinately  and  disagreeably  verbose,  full  of  bombast  and 
exaggeration,  but  yet  of  enormous  historic  value.  Lanigan 
states  that  foreign  students  still  came  to  Ireland,  though  he 
can  give  but  one  solitary  name.  || 

But  an  oasis  cannot  conceal,  it  rather  accentuates,  the  naked- 
ness of  the  surrounding  desert,  nor  can  the  partial  prosperity 
of  a  few  schools  conceal  the  ruin  that  had  fallen  upon  the  Irish 
Church.  The  constant  plunder  of  churches  by  Christian  chiefs,, 
aided  by  Christian  soldiers,  showed  that  the  worst  passions  of 
the  human  heart  were  let  loose  and  that  religion  had  lost  its 
power  to  control  them.  No  Synods  were  held  for  more  than 
three  centuries — from  the  first  coming  of  the  Danes  to  the  Synod 
of  Fiad  MacEngus  (11 1 5)  ;  the  bishops,  deprived  of  the  revenues 
of  the  monastic  lands,  conferred  Orders  for  money,  and  the 
Annals  record  (1055)  ^hat  a  pitched  battle  took  place  between  the 
monks  of  Armagh  and  Kells  in  which  many  lives  were  lost,  and 
again  (in  1060)  there  was  a  battle  between  two  rival  factions 
for  the  Abbacy  of  Armagh.**  The  salt  had  lost  its  savour; 
corruption,  which  perpetual  war  had  engendered  among  the 
clergy,  spread  from  the  clergy  to  the  people,  and  Lanfranc 
in  his  letters  to  Turlogh,  King  of  Munster,  and  to  the  Danish 
King  of  Dublin  ;  and  again,  Anselm  to  King  Murtogh,  were 
able  to  accuse  the  Irish,  that  bishops  were  consecrated  without 
Sees,  that  these  bishops  were  guilty  of  simony,  that  marriages 
were  contracted  irregularly  and  within  the  prohibited  degrees 
and  that  the  abominable  practice  existed  of  men  abandoning 
their  wives,  even   exchanging   wives,   with   consequent   promis- 

*  MSS.  Materials,  p.  9.  It  was  this  Con  who  with  Corcran,  an  anchorite 
was  entrusted  with  the  government  after  Malachy's    death  (1022). 

\  Douglas  Hyde's  Literary  History,  p.  445.  He  was  head  teacher  at 
Monasterboice  and  died  in  1056. 

\  Healy,  pp.  279  and  277. 

II  Vol.  III.,  p.  490.       This  student  was  Sulgenus,  Bishop  of  St.  David's. 

**  Annals  of  Loch  Ce.  The  Four  Masters  have  omitted  these  entries, 
wishing  no  doubt  to  suppress  facts,  which  show  how  little  these  monks 
had  the  spirit  of  their  state  ;  but  they  ought  to  have  remembered  they  were 
writing  history,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  historian  to  tell  the  truth. 


DECAY   OF  RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  1 49 

cuous  intercourse.*  Lesser  evils,  but  by  no  means  light,  were 
those  mentioned  by  Gillebert,  Bishop  of  Limerick,  who  in  his 
capacity  of  Papal  Legate,  sought  to  establish  uniformity  of 
discipline  and  practice  and  wrote  for  the  benefit  of  the  clergy 
a  tract  "  De  Usu  Ecclesiastico,"  and  another  "  De  Statu  Ecclesiae." 
He  dwells  much  on  the  diversity  of  Orders,  Masses  and  Offices, 
sought  to  persuade  all  to  conform  to  the  Roman  office,  and 
characterises  as  unbecoming  and  even  schismatical,  that  a  learned 
man  in  one  Order  would  be  an  idiot  and  a  layman  in  a  church 
of  a  different  Order .f  Lanigan's  remark  is  justified  that  Gillebert 
was  but  a  shallow  theologian,|  for  diversity  of  liturgy  does  not 
involve  diversity  of  doctrine  ;  there  are  still  many  Orders  m 
the  Church,  and  the  offices  of  the  regular  differ  from  the 
secular  clergy  as  well  as  among  themselves,  but  such  diversity 
does  not  amount  to  schism. 

In  the  year  1132,  Malachy  O'Morgair — afterwards  St. 
Malachy — ^became  Archbishop  of  Armagh.  Born  in  1094,  and 
educated  at  Armagh  and  Lismore,  he  became  successively  priest, 
vicar-general  to  Celsus,  then  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  Abbot  of 
Bangor,  Bishop  of  Connor  and  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  besides 
subsequently  being  Bishop  of  Down  and  Papal  Legate.  ||  Twice 
he  went  to  Rome,  where  he  was  received  by  Innocent  11.  with 
the  greatest  respect.**  On  these  journeys  he  turned  aside  to 
Clairvaux,  where  he  made  the  acquaintance  and  became  the 
personal  and  attached  friend  of  St.  Bernard,  in  whose  monastery 
and  in  whose  arms  he  died  (1148).  St.  Bernard  wrote  his  life 
and  it  is  in  these  pages  that  the  picture  of  the  Irish  Church  in 
the  twelfth  century  is  drawn  in  the  most  sombre  colours.  At 
Armagh,  Malachy  found  that  one  powerful  family  had  possessed 
that  See  for  over  two  hundred  years.  Nine  in  succession — 
mostly  laymen  and  married  though  educatedjf — had  presumed 
to  take  the  Primate's  place,  to  appropriate  the  revenues  and  to 
have  themselves  recognised  as  Coarbs,  or  successors  of  St.  Patrick. 

*  Usher's  Sylloge,  Nos.  26,  27,  and  35,  2>^. 

t  "  Quid  enim  magis  indecens  aut  schismaticum  dici  poterit  quam 
doctissimum  unius  ordinis  in  alterius  Ecclesia  idiotam  et  laicum  fieri." 
Usher's  Sylloge,  No.  30. 

X  Vol.  IV.,  p.  29. 

II  Ibid.,  IV.,  pp.  59  et  seq. 

**Opera  omnia  S.  Bernardi  (Ed.  Mabillon),Vol.  I.,"  De  vita  S.  Malactiae," 
p.-  1493.  Innocent  appointed  him  Legate  in]  place  of  Gillebert,  who  was 
old  and  feeble. 

tt  De  Vita  MalachicB,  p.  1483.  The  eight  before  Celsus  were  all 
married  men.  Dr.  Hanmer  further  states  that  Celsus  himself  was  married,! 
that  he  died  of  great  age,  "  and  lyeth  buried  with  his  wife  and  children 
in  the  said  church,"  a  bold  statement  and  evidently  an  untrue  one,  for 
the  Annals  of   Ulster  (1105),  expressly  states  that  Celsus  on  becoming 


I50  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

They  did  not,  however,  exercise  episcopal  functions,*  but  em- 
ployed a  regularly  consecrated  bishop,  who  discharged  the 
duties  of  the  episcopal  ofifice.  Even  after  the  appointment  of 
Malachy  as  Archbishop,  one  of  these  usurpers — Nigellus — took 
possession  of  the  Bacal  Jesu,  or  Crozier  of  St.  Patrick,  one  of 
the  insignia  of  the  See  of  Armagh.  It  was  said  to  have  been 
given  to  St.  Patrick  by  an  angel,!  it  was  carefully  preserved 
and  much  venerated,  and  in  St.  Malachy's  time  was  adorned 
with  gold  and  precious  stones.  With  this  crozier  Nigellus  made 
his  visitation  throughout  the  various  provinces  and  the  stupid 
people  (stultus  et  insipiens)  recognised  the  possessor  of  St. 
Patrick's  Crozier  as  his  Successor,  and  paid  to  a  usurper  the 
honours  and  dues  which  should  have  been  reserved  for  St. 
Malachy.  In  other  churches  and,  perhaps,  at  Armagh,  but  sub- 
sidiary to  the  Coarb,  there  were  other  usurpers  under  the  name 
of  Herenachs.  J  Originally  stewards  of  church  property,  though 
not  always  ecclesiastics,  their  possession  of  the  lands  became 
hereditary  in  process  of  time,  but  they  were  subject  to  the  bishop 
or  abbot,  and  had  out  of  the  lands  to  pay  him  certain  rents  and 
to  be  charged  besides  with  the  maintenance  of  the  church. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  disorders  that  prevailed,  they  continued 
to  remember  only  their  hereditary  rights  to  the  lands,  but  their 
obligations  they  conveniently  ignored  ;  and  we  know  that 
Armagh  was  left  in  part  without  a  roof  for  a  hundred  and  thirty 
years, II  that  the  monastery  of  Bangor  ceased  to  exist,**  and  that 
when  St.  Malachy,  in  his  efforts  to  re-establish  it,  undertook 
the  building  of  a  stone  church  there,  the  herenach,  presumably 
lest  he  might  be  called  upon  to  fulfil  his  inherited  obligations, 
incited  the  people  to  violence,  telling  them  that  they  were  Irish 
and  not  Gauls,  and  that  a  wooden  church  should  be  built  as 
was  done  by  their  ancestors,  tf  Neither  at  Connor  nor  Armagh 
were  the  offices  chanted  by  the  clergy  ;  there  was  no  preaching, 
no  confession  ;  marriages  were  irregularly  contracted  ;  faith 
was  dead,  and  the  people  were  Christians  in  name,  but  pagans 
in  reality. JJ    Thwarted  in  all  his  efforts  at  reform,  Malachy  lived 

Archbishop  received  Holy  Orders  on  the  feast  of  S.  Adamnan  (Sep.  23)' 
pje  was  of  the  family  that  had  usurped  Armagh,  but  S.  Bernard  in  mention" 
ing  the  eight  before  him  plainly  desires  to  exclude  Celsus  as  being  neither 
jj^arried  nor  without  orders,  Vid.  Hanmer's  Chronicle  (^Ancient  Irish 
utsiories,  Vol.  II.,  p.  203.) 

*  Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  82. 

t  Obits  and  Martyrology  of  Christ  Church — Introduction. 

X  O'Hanlon's  Life  of  S.  Malachy,  chap.    13. 

II  Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  yy. 

**  Ibid.,   pp.   78,  et  seq. 

ft  De  Vita  S.  Malachice,  p.   15 13. 

%X  Ibid.i  p.    1480. 


DECAY   OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  I51 

for  two  years  outside  his  episcopal  city  of  Armagh,  kept  out 
forcibly  by  the  lay  usurpers,  Maurice  and  Nigellus,*  and,  when 
he  entered  the  city,  as  a  protection  against  violence,  he  was 
compelled  to  have  an  armed  guard  night  and  day. 

It  has  been  sometimes  thought  that  St.  Bernard's  words 
are  too  strong,  that  the  picture  is  overdrawn,  and  when  the 
Irish  are  described  as  a  barbarous  people,  a  people  without  sanctity, 
and  without  law,  a  rude  people,  a  nation  of  beasts  rather  than 
men,  such  language  falls  harshly  upon  an  Irish  ear.  His  language 
in  reference  to  marriage  is  especially  strong,  but  is  rather  the 
result  of  misconception  than  of  knowledge,  for  it  was  not  that 
there  were  no  marriages  in  Ireland  and  therefore  that  concubinage 
was  universal,  but  it  was  that  in  some  cases  and  perhaps  in  many 
cases,  marriages  were  contracted  irregularly .f  The  time  was 
long  anterior  to  the  Council  of  Trent,  and  in  these  days  instead 
of  the  prescribed  form  of  words  by  which  the  contract  and 
sacrament  of  marriage  is  now  entered  into,  there  existed  a  custom 
in  accordance  with  which  a  mutual  promise  of  marriage  was 
made  {sfonsalia  de  -presenti),  followed  immediately  by  co-habi- 
tation, and  this  was  recognised  as  marriage.  But  the  Irish 
custom  was  to  make  the  mutual  promise  in  reference  to  a  future 
marriage  {sponsalia  de  futuro).  These  promises  were  made 
solemnly,  in  presence  of  witnesses,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Church, 
with  some  religious  ceremonies  and  the  interchange  of  gifts. 
They  were  made  by  those  qualified  to  contract  marriage,  they 
were  not  annulled  by  a  subsequent  marriage,  or  by  any  other 
impediment  having  arisen,  and  continuing  in  all  their  original 
efficacy,  when  the  time  appointed  had  expired,  co-habitation 
ensued,  the  spouses  became  husband  and  wife,  bethrothal  passed 
into  marriage — and  such  had  been  the  declaration  of  two  Popes 
— Alexander  III.  and  Gregory  II.  Such  a  mode  of  contracting 
marriage  was  not  usual  in  other  countries,  but  it  was  thought 
sufficient  in  Ireland,  and  a  contract  having  the  sanction  of  religion, 
even  though  bound  up  with  what  was  unusual  and  irregular, 
is  entirely  different  from  those  illicit  connections,  which  ignore 
religion  altogether  and  are  founded  exclusively  on  the  uncon- 
trolled impulse  of  the  passions.  But  the  attempt  to  show  that 
the  other  disorders  spoken  of  did  not  exist,  or  that  they  should 
be  confined  to  the  North  of  Ireland,  is  vain.  Almost  the  same 
indictment  was  made  against  Dublin  by  Lanfranc  and  St.  Anselm.J 
Nor  is  it  probable  that  Connaught  and  Munster  and  Meath  were 


*  Vita  MalachicB,  p.    1484. 

f  Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  70,  71.      This    question   is    treated    at  some 
length  by  Dr.  Lanigan  and  with  his  usual  ability  and  knowledge. 
X  Usher's  Sylloge. 


152  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

any  better,  for  these  were  the  places  which,  for  more  than  a 
century,  had  been  the  theatre  of  continued  war.  To  the  demoral- 
ising influence  of  constant  war  may  be  added  the  evil  example 
of  the  kings  and  chiefs.  Muirchertach  of  the  Leather  Cloaks, 
for  instance,  was  the  son  of  Nial  Glunduff  and  his  step-sister 
Gormfleth,  for  both  husband  and  wife  were  children  of  the  same 
mother — Maelmuire.  Malachy,  the  rival  of  Brian  Boru,  was 
married  firstly  to  a  daughter  of  Olaf  Cuaran*  and  secondly  to 
Gormfleth,  Olaf's  discarded  wife,  while  Brian  Boru  himself  had 
the  same  Gormfleth  as  his  mistress.  But  the  example  of  the 
Church,  and  above  all  of  the  Church  of  Armagh,  was  the  most 
pernicious  in  its  effects.  The  whole  Church  of  Ireland  looked 
up  to  Armagh  for  guidance  and  good  example,  and  how  could 
the  members  of  the  body  be  sound  when  the  head  itself  was 
stricken  with  disease  ?  f  In  such  a  Church — helpless,  almost 
hopeless — robbed  of  its  ancient  beauty  and  its  vigour,  it  were 
hard  to  recognise  the  once  prosperous  Church  of  St.  Columbanus 
and  St.  Columba.  The  Irish  Church  of  their  day  might  be  likened 
to  a  splendid  vessel,  equal  to  the  most  arduous  voyage,  and 
fearing  neither  wind  nor  tide  ;  in  the  twelfth  century  she  had 
become  a  battered  hulk,  aimlessly  drifting  on  the  sea. 

Many  and  serious  as  these  evils  were,  yet  they  will  not  establish 
the  contention  of  those  who,  from  the  days  of  Ware  and  Usher 
to  our  own,  have  sought  to  prove  that  the  Irish  was  an  inde- 
pendent Church  and  refused  its  allegiance  to  the  Church  of 
Rome.  A  modern  Church  historian,  who  is  not  deficient  either 
in  ability  or  knowledge,  has  a  theory  which  is  all  his  own.  He 
does  not  deny  that  the  ancient  Irish  held  Rome  in  great  vene- 
ration, but  he  gravely  assures  us  that  they  venerated  Rome, 
not  as  the  head  of  their  church  but  rather  as  the  burial  place 
of  Saints  Peter  and  Paul. J  Such  a  theory  has  the  merit  of  novelty, 
but  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  the  merit  of  truth.  Ledwich  i| 
is  never  sparing,  either  of  assertion  or  speculation,  and  his  specu- 
lations as  to  the  Eastern  origin  of  the  Irish  Church  are  as  well 
founded  as  his  positive  assertion  that  there  were  differences  of 
doctrine  between  the  Irish  and  the  Roman  Church,  for  the  only 
argument  he  brings  forward  in  support  of  this  view  is  that  there 
were  differences  about  the  Paschal  computation,  a  question 
which  had  no  reference  to  doctrine  at  all.  Usher's  prejudices** 
were  as  strong  as  those  of  Ledwich,  but  his  learning  and  candour 

*  Halliday's  Scandinavian  Kingdom  of  Dublin,  pp.  77-79. 
t    Vita  MalachicB,  p.    1483. 
+  Olden ;     The  Church  of  Ireland,  p.  96. 
II  Antiquities,  pp.  411-12. 

**  Vol.  IV.,  p.  319,  "  Of  the  Religion  professed  by  the  Ancient  Irish." 
vid.  also  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  I.,  p.  30 


DECAY   OF   RELIGION   AND   LEARNING.  1 53 

and  honesty  as  a  historian  were  much  greater,  and  yet  he  can 
find  no  better  argument  than  this — that  the  Pope  had  no  spiritual 
jurisdiction  in  Ireland  because,  up  to  the  time  of  Gillebert,  there 
was  no  Papal  Legate  in  Ireland  ;  as  if  the  presence  of  a  Papal 
Legate  were  necessary  to  connect  Ireland,  in  doctrine  or  even 
in  discipline,  with  the  Church  of  Rome.  If  this  charge,  or  others 
of  a  like  character,  were  true,  it  is  remarkable  that  they  were 
not  made  either  by  Lanfranc  or  Anselm  or  St.  Bernard.  Neither 
is  it  charged  against  any  of  the  numerous  Irishmen  abroad,* 
not  even  against  Scotus  Erigena  against  whom  so  many  things 
have  been  said.  If  it  were  so,  why  should  so  many  princes  go 
as  pilgrims  to  Rome — Sitricf  (1040),  Flaherty  O'Neill  (1030), 
Donogh  O'Brien,  (1060);  why  should  they  pay  honour  to  a  Church 
they  did  not  recognise  ?  The  journey  to  Rome  in  these  days 
was  no  light  matter,  but  one  full  of  difficulty  and  danger  ;  and 
Pope  Innocent  compassionates  St.  Malachy  on  having  made  it.J 
If  princes  and  bishops  did  go  to  Rome,  it  could  hardly  be  to  gratify 
idle  curiosity,  but  rather  to  pay  their  respects  to  him  who  was 
head  of  their  Church  and  who  sat  in  St.  Peter's  chair. 

With  unbounded  admiration  St.  Bernard  speaks  of  St.  Malachy 
and  his  labours  in  the  work  of  reform.  ||  Even  as  Archbishop 
of  Armagh  he  travelled  on  foot,  suffering  the  extremes  of  cold 
and  fatigue  ;  like  the  good  pastor,  he  was  ready  to  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  sheep.  Knowing  his  danger  but  not  fearing  it,  he 
stood  in  the  midst  of  wolves  ;  so  little  ambitious,  that  entreaty 
and  almost  force  were  necessary  to  make  him  accept  the  See 
of  Armagh,*  *  but  only  on  condition  that,  if  he  could  reform  the 
people  there,  he  would  be  allowed  to  resign,  which  he  did  and 
was  content  with  the  small  and  obscure  diocese  of  Down.  Such 
exertions  and  such  example  as  his  could  not  but  succeed,  and 
both  at  Armagh  and  Connor  the  change  he  effected  was  great. 
The  Roman  customs  in  regard  to  the  office  were  introduced, 
priests  were  ordained,  churches  built,  confessions  became  frequent, 
the  people  came  to  the  churches,  irregular  marriage  and  con- 
cubinage were  replaced  by  lawful  marriages,  until  at  length  it 
might  be  said  "  that  which  before  was  not  my  people  now  is  my 
people. "ft  As  Papal  Legate  he  travelled  over  all  parts  of  the  country, 
settled  many  disputes  among  warring  chiefs,  and  at  Cork  settled 
a  dispute  about  the  succession  to  that  See.JJ  At  his  death  (i  148), 

*  Usher's  Sylloge,  No.  17. 

t  Four  Masters. 

X    Vita  MalachicB,  p.   1493: 

II    Vita  MalachicB-y  p.   1489. 

**  Ibid.,  p.   1483: 

tt  Ibid.,  p.   148 1. 

++  P-    1503.- 


154  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

the  impress  of  his  zeal  was  left  on  the  whole  Irish  Church.  Yet, 
disorders  of  such  long  standing  cannot  be  cured  in  the  life,  or 
by  the  labours,  of  a  single  man,  and  while  much  had  been  done 
much  remained  yet  to  do. 

So  far  back  as  the  Synod  of  Rathbresil  (1118),  an  attempt 
was  made  to  evolve  order  out  of  chaos  in  church  government 
and  for  the  first  time  diocesan  episcopacy  was  established.  The 
number  of  sees  was  fixed  at  twenty-four  exclusive  of  Dublin, 
which  was  still  left  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Canterbury.  Water- 
ford  and  Lismore,  which  had  hitherto  been  subject  to  the  same 
jurisdiction  were  made  part  of  the  Munster  province  and  subject 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Cashel.*  No  palliums  were  yet  conferred 
on  any  Irish  prelate,  but  both  Armagh  and  Cashel  were  recognised 
and  decreed  to  be  Archiepiscopal  Sees,  Armagh  having  a  primacy 
over  all  Ireland,  while,  over  Leath  Mogha,  Cashel  was  supreme.f 
It  was  decreed  that  Church  lands  were  to  be  respected  and  to 
be  free  from  tribute,  and  while  a  blessing  was  pronounced  on 
those  who  respected  and  observed  the  Synod's  decrees,  a  curse 
was  pronounced  on  those  who  should  infringe  them.  Yet,  so 
little  were  these  decrees  respected,  that  Turlogh  O'Connor  burned 
the  churches  of  Cashel  and  Lismore  (1121),  and  Emly  (1123), 
and  Conor  O'Loughlin  burned  the  church  of  Trim  with  a  number 
of  people  assembled  within  it.l  Other  Synods  were  held — at 
Cashel  (1134),  and  Innispatrick  (11 48),  at  the  latter  of  which 
it  was  agreed  that  Malachy  should  proceed  to  Rome  and  beg 
the  palliums  for  Armagh  and  Cashel,  which  so  far  had  not  been 
obtained.  St.  Malachy  had,  in  the  meantime,  introduced  the 
Cistercian  Order  into  Ireland,  and  had  built  for  them  a  monastery 
at  Mellifont  (1142).  1|  At  the  Synod  of  Kells  (11 52),  Cardinal 
Paparo,  who  had  been  specially  sent  from  Rome,  conferred  four 
palliums  on  the  Archbishops  of  Armagh,  Cashel,  Dublin  and 
Tuam  ;  and  so  little  was  the  number  or  boundaries  of  the  dioceses 
fixed  on  at  Rathbresil  adhered  to,  that  a  new  arrangement  was 
made  at  Kells,  and  as  many  as  thirty-eight  dioceses  were  estab- 
lished.** Tithes  were  ordered  to  be  paid  in  1 154,  but  they  were 
not  paid  up  to  the  Synod  of  Cashel  (i  172),  nor  were  the  diocesan 
arrangements  final,  for  at  the  Synod  of  Brigh-mac-Tighe  (i  i  58), 
another  diocese  was  added — that  of  Derry  :  a  further  synod 
was  held  (1162)  at  Clane.  These  numerous  synods  in  such 
rapid  succession  and  in  such  marked  contrast  to  the  preceding 

*  Lanigan,  Vol.  iv.,  pp.  42-3. 

■f  This  supremacy  was  one  of  honour  and  dignity  rather  than  a  con- 
ferring of  jurisdiction  over  suffragan  dioceses. 
+  Lanigan,  Vol.  iv.,  p.   55. 
II  Ibid.,  p.    128. 
**  Lanigan,  Vol.  iv.,  p.   167. 


DECAY   OF   RELIGION    AMD   LEARNING.  155 

ages,  when  no  synods  were  held,  indicate  that  the  work  of  reform 
was  being  pushed  on  and  that  the  bishops  were  earnest  in  their 
efforts,  but  it  was  easier  to  hold  synods  and  make  regulations 
than  to  put  these  regulations  in  force,  nor  could  this  be  done 
while  there  were  a  number  of  turbulent  chiefs  for  ever  quarrelling 
with  each  other,  making  war  a  pastime  and  apparently  caring 
little  for  the  people  of  whom  they  were  at  once  the  torment  and 
the  curse.  At  the  Anglo-Norman  invasion  the  clan  system, 
having  long  outgrown  its  time,  still  existed,  and  like  the  upas 
tree  neither  Church  nor  State  could  flourish  beneath  its 
poisoned  shade. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Cultivation  and  Condition  of  the  Art 

Giraldus  Cambrensis  and  the  Irish— Censures  them  in  many  things- 
Praises  Iheir  skill  in  music— Illumination  of  Manuscripts— The  Book 
of  Kells— Their  skill  in  metal  work— Various  shrines— The  Tara 
Brooch— The  Ardagh  Chalice— The  Cross  of  Cong— Architecture- 
Early  stone  buildings— Irish  Romanesque— Cormac's  Chapel — High 
Crosses— Defects  of  the  sculptured  figures— The  Round  Towers- 
Theories  as  to  their  origin  and  use — Petrie's  conclusions. 

When  Giraldus  Cambrensis  came  to  Ireland,  in  the  wake  of 
the  Anglo-Norman  adventurers,*  he  found  little  to  praise, 
and  many  things  with  which  he  found  fault.  The  land  of  the 
country,  its  climate,  most  of  all  its  people— one  and  all  excited 
his  displeasure  and  drew  from  him  words  of  censure.  Ireland 
he  describes  as  a  country  of  uneven  surface,  mountainous,  boggy, 
wet,  woody  and  marshy,  truly  a  desert  land.f  Surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  the  sea,  unsheltered,  open  to  all  the  winds  that 
blew,  it  was  subject  to  violent  and  frequent  storms,  the  blast 
either  bending  or  uprooting  the  trees,  and,  like  all  mountainous 
countries,  generating  and  nourishing  most  abundant  rains. 
Among  its  animals  the  partridge  and  pheasant  were  wanting  ; 
there  were  no  goats  ;  and  the  violent  winds  and  frequent  rains 
caused  multitudes  of  bees  to  perish  ;  and  those  which  combated 
successfully  the  inclemency  ot  the  weather  were  killed  by  the 
poisonous  yew  tree,  with  which  the  woods  of  Ireland  abounded. 
But  it  is  when  Giraldus  comes  to  speak  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country,  that  the  violence  and  bitterness  of  his  language  is 
especially  manifest.  They  were  a  rude  people,  a  barbarous 
people,     adulterous    and    incestuous,    illegitimately    born    and 

*  He  came  first  in  1 185  as  Prince  John's  secretary.-  His  real  name  was 
Gerald  Barry  or  de  Barri,  but  he  is  more  frequently  called  by  his  Latin 
name  as  above— Cambrensis  to  denote  that  he  was  a  native  of  Cambria— 
or  Wales.  He  was  born  in  Pembrokeshire.  He  wrote  two  works  on  Ireland. 
The   Topography  and    The   Conquest  of  Ireland. 

t  Historical  works  of  Giraldus  (Bohn's  Ed.),  p.  20; 


CULTIVATION   AND   CONDITION   OF    THE   ARTS.  1 57 

married.  They  had  not  yet  departed  from  the  primitive  habits 
of  pastoral  life,  held  agricultural  labours  in  contempt,  were 
averse  to  civil  institutions  and  led  the  same  life  their  fathers 
did  in  the  woods  and  open  pastures,  neither  willing  to  abandon 
their  old  habits  nor  learn  anything  new.*  They  had  no  linen, 
no  manufactures  of  woollens,  no  commerce  nor  any  sort  of 
mechanical  arts.f  They  were  barbarous  in  their  dress,  in  the 
manner  of  wearing  their  hair  and  beards  ;  secluded  by  the  position 
of  their  country  from  civilised  nations,  they  learned  nothing 
and  practised  nothing  but  the  barbarism  in  which  they  were 
born  and  bred,  and  which  stuck  to  them  like  a  second  nature.^ 
They  lived  like  the  beasts,  knew  nothing  of  the  very  rudiments 
of  the  faith,  and  were  the  most  filthy  people,  and  the  most 
ignorant  on  the  face  of  the  earth. ||  In  reference  to  such  a  people 
and  such  a  country,  the  question  of  Giraldus  is  not  surprising — 
can  any  good  come  from  Ireland  ?  As  well  expect  to  suck  honey 
from  the  rock  or  draw  oil  from  the  flint.**  It  was  evident  that 
such  a  people  were  born  into  the  world  with  a  double  dose  of 
original  sin,  and  the  wonder  is  that  the  Fitzstephens  and  the 
Fitzgeralds  and  the  De  Burghos  should  care  to  live  among  such 
savages,  or  desire  to  be  masters  of  a  land,  where  nature  had  been 
so  niggardly  of  its  gifts. 

The  Arts  which  are  cultivated  and  flourish  among  civilised 
nations  could  not  be  expected  to  be  found,  except  in  a  rudimentary 
state,  among  a  people  so  low  in  the  scale  of  culture.  And  great 
is  our  surprise  to  learn — it  is  the  testimony  of  Giraldus  himself — 
that  the  Irish  described  as  so  rude,  yet  excelled  all  other  nations 
in  music,  an  art  which,  even  among  the  fine  art*  themselves, 
may  justly  be  called  the  queen,  ff  "  The  only  thing,"  he  says, 
"  to  which  I  find  that  this  people  apply  a  commendable  industry 
is  playing  upon  musical  instruments,  in  which  they  are  incom- 
parably more  skilful  than  any  other  nation  I  have  ever  seen. 
For  their  modulation  on  these  instruments,  unlike  that  of  the 
Britons  to  which  I  am  accustomed,  is  not  slow  and  harsh,  but 
lively  and  rapid,  while  the  harmony  is  both  sweet  and  gay. 
It  is  astonishing  that  in  so  complex  and  rapid  a  movement  of 
the  fingers,  the  musical  proportions  can  be  preserved  and  that 
throughout  the  difificult  modulations  on  their  various  instruments 
the  harmony  is  completed  with  such  a  sweet  velocity,  so  unequal 

*  Cambrensis,  p.   124. 

I  Cambrensis  Eversus-,  Vol.  II.j  pp.   i67j  et  seq.     Lynch,  the    author! 
conclusively  proves  that  Giraldus  is  wrong,  and  even  contradicts  himselfj 
X  Cambrensis^  pp.   125-6. 
I!  Ibid.,  pp.    134-5. 

**  Ibid.j  p.  6.  Author's  First  Preface  to  the  Topography; 
ff  Cambrensis,  pp.   126-7.      {The  Topography,  Chap.  II.) 


158  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND 

an  equality,  so  discordant  a  concord,  as  if  the  chords  sounded 
together  fourths  or  fifths.  They  always  begin  from  B  flat  and 
return  to  the  same,  that  the  whole  may  be  completed  under  the 
sweetness  of  a  pleasing  sound.  They  enter  into  a  movement 
and  conclude  it  in  so  delicate  a  manner  and  play  the  little  notes 
so  sportively,  under  the  blunter  sounds  of  the  base  strings,  en- 
livening with  wanton  levity  or  communicating  a  deeper  internal 
sensation  of  pleasure,  so  that  the  perfection  of  their  art  appears 
in  the  concealment  of  it." 

The  influence  of  music  is  felt  among  all  nations,  and  both 
savage  and  civilised  man  are  at  times  under  its  potent  spell. 
The  wild  war  dance  of  the  savage  appears  grotesque  enough, 
and  to  ears  attuned  to  the  higher  forms  of  music  there  is  little 
which  is  pleasing  in  the  beating  of  their  cymbals  and  their 
drums.  But  even  the  savage  of  the  African  swamp,  as  he 
beats  his  tamtam,  does  so  with  a  certain  rhythm  and  regularity, 
and  amid  the  clamour  and  noise  the  ear  recognises  a  fixed  order 
in  the  sounds  ;  time  is  beaten  though  little  of  what  we  might 
call  music  is  produced.  Such  rude  beginnings  are  separated 
by  an  enormous  interval  of  time  and  skill  from  the  proficiency 
displayed  by  the  Irish  in  the  time  of  Giraldus.  Nor  could  such 
proficiency  be  acquired  suddenly,  or  in  a  single  age,  but  must 
have  been  a  slow  and  gradual  development.  At  each  stage, 
the  distinction  can  be  easily  marked  between  the  laborious 
efforts  of  industry  and  patience  and  the  sudden  and  subtle 
inspirations  of  genius  ;  but  even  genius  cannot  dispense  with 
labour  and  patience,  and  such  skill  in  music  as  the  Irish  had 
acquired  was  not,  and  could  not  be,  the  efforts  of  untutored 
genius.  The  fingers  of  the  harpers  *  acquired  their  dexterity 
by  repeated  efforts  and  by  the  rules  and  experience  of  the  ages 
that  had  passed  away  ;  it  was  not  in  a  day  or  in  an  age,  that 
their  ears  were  so  attuned  to  melody,  nor  that  they  became 
possessed  of  that  subtle  faculty  by  which  they  so  disciplined  the 
various  sounds  of  their  harps,  that  they  felt  and  excited  emotion, 
that  they  soothed  the  sorrowing  by  their  strains,  or  called  forth 
the  tear  of  grief,  or  assuaged  the  violence  of  passion,  or  awakened 
to  life  and  gaiety  the  feeble  and  almost  vanished  remembrance 
of  some  long  past    scene. 

Equally  remarkable  was  the  skill  of  the  Irish  in  the  art  of 
illuminating  manuscripts,  but  unlike  their  proficiency  in 
music  this  had  its  origin  in  Christian  times.  The  missionaries, 
who  accompanied  and  surrounded  St.  Patrick,  wanted  books 
to  carry  on  the  work  of  their  mission.  The  preacher  wanted 
his  copy  of  the  Scriptures  so  as  to  teach  the  people  who  thronged 

*  Giraldus  has  noted  that  the  Irish  only  used  two  instruments— the 
harp  and  the  tabor  (p.  127.) 


CULTIVATION   AND  CONDITION   OF   THE   ARTS.  1 59 

to  hear  him,  for  the  most  trained  memory  could  hardly  retain 
everything  in  the  Sacred  Volume,  and  to  rely  on  memory  alone 
would  be  to  invite  error  and  confusion.  The  priest,  or  bishop, 
wanted  his  ritual  to  administer  the  sacraments,  and  his  missal 
to  celebrate  Mass,  and  as  the  country  was  rapidly  converted 
from  paganism  these  books  should  be  rapidly  multiplied.  In 
the  monasteries  which  were  founded  and  to  which  schools 
were  attached,  not  the  least  important  part  of  the  buildings 
was  the  Scriptorium,  or  writing-house,  where  the  monks  who 
were  skilled  in  penmanship  were  constantly  employed  in  making 
copies  of  the  required  books.  The  number  of  monasteries  which 
sprang  up  so  rapidly  was  considerable,  so  also  was  the  number 
of  scribes  *  in  each  monastery,  and  the  diligence  and  skill  with 
which  they  worked  was  such,  that  they  were  able  to  keep  pace 
with  the  growing  demand.  Bat  to  copy  these  sacred  books, 
and  to  copy  them  plainly  and  legibly  was  not  enough  for  these 
zealous  men.  The  Scriptures  were  the  inspired  word  of  God, 
His  wisdom  conveyed  to  men  through  His  appointed  ministers. 
And  if  Solomon  ransacked  his  own  kingdom  as  well  as  others 
for  materials  and  skill  to  decorate  the  Temple,  was  it  not  meet 
that  something  also  should  be  done  to  decorate  and  ornament 
those  works  in  which  the  wisdom  of  God  was  contained  ?  Such 
at  least  was  the  view  of  those  Irish  monks,  whose  faith  was  so 
vivid,  who  considered  it  little  what  sacrifices  they  made  in  God's 
service,  and  for  the  advancement  of  His  honour,  and  who,  to 
obtain  merit  in  His  sight  and  secure  their  own  salvation, 
practised  mortifications  and  austerities,  as  intense  and  as 
difficult  to  human  nature,  as  did  the  monks  of  the  Egyptian 
desert.  The  beginning  of  the  art  of  illumination  may  have 
come  to  Ireland  from  the  East,  perhaps  from  Constantinople, 
where  the  Byzantine  style  flourished,  or,  it  may  be,  from  North 
Italy ,t  but  whithersoever  it  was  brought,  the  art  in  Ireland 
grew  and  flourished  with  peculiarities  and  an  excellence  all  its 
own  ;  and  the  Irish  illuminated  manuscripts  are  easily  dis- 
tinguished from  those  of  all  other  lands.  The  skins  from  which 
the  parchments  were  made  were  sometimes  finely  polished, 
but  often  also  were  rough  and  uneven.  The  writing  was  done, 
not  with  sharp  metallic  pens,  but  with  the  quills  of  swans,  geese 
and  crows,  and  the  inks  used  were  of  various  colours,  black, 
red,  purple,  violet,  green  and  yellow,  the  permanency  of  the 
black  and  the  brilliancy  of  the  red  being  specially  noticeable, 
The  black  was  mixed  with  some  gummy  substance,  which  did 

*  Of  all  these  there  was  none  more  expert  than  St.  Columba. 
t  Miss  StokeSj  Early  Christian  Art  in  Ireland,  p.  9.    Interlaced  designs 
certainly  characterise  the  early  Christian  Art  of  North  Italy,  (Stokes,  p.  71.) 


l6o  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

not  sink  into  the  parchment  or  fade  ;  and  the  brilliancy  of  the 
red  was  not  affected  either  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  or  by  the 
washing  of  the  rain  ;  defying  both,  it  retained  its  original  dis- 
tinctive colour,  and  age  but  added  to  its  beauty.*  The  various 
colours  are  blended  with  artistic  effect,  and  the  page  glowing 
with  these  colours  is  strikingly  beautiful.  But  perhaps  it  is 
the  lines  and  figures  which  most  effectually  challenge  admiration. 
The  Irish  scribe  had  a  firm  hand,  and  a  well  trained  eye,  and 
in  the  lines  and  curves  which  are  so  numerous  there  is  no  trace 
of  a  swerve,  nothing  to  denote  but  that  these  circles  and  lines 
had  been  drawn  by  the  most  accurate  modern  instruments  of 
mathematics.!  As  we  look  at  one  of  these  illuminated  pages, 
the  variety  of  lines  and  curves,  of  spirals  and  interlacements, 
an  animal  in  one  place,  the  head  of  a  fish  in  another,  a  human 
head  in  yet  a  third  place,  our  curiosity  is  excited  and  baffled 
as  to  where  the  artist  began  and  where  he  ended  ;  figures,  lines, 
circles,  spirals  and  interlacements — all  are  before  us  with  a 
completeness,  an  accuracy,  a  minuteness,  lit  up  by  a  blaze  of 
colours,  blending  so  skilfully  with  those  figures  and  with  each 
other  that  even  the  trained  artist  is  amazed  at  the  skill 
displayed. 

The  most  widely  known  and  the  most  beautiful  of  these 
existing  manuscripts  is  the  Book  of  Kells.  It  is  a  copy  of  the 
four  Gospels,  and  is  said  by  some  to  be  the  work  of  St.  Columba, 
who  is  well-known  to  have  done  much  in  copying,  and  who, 
by  constant  practice,  attained  considerable  skill.  But  the 
evidence  is  overwhelming  that  the  work  is  of  a  later  date,  perhaps 
ot  the  eighth,  or  close  of  the  seventh  century.  The  words 
are  those  of  St.  Jerome's  version,  which  had  not  come  into  use 
in  Ireland  until  after  the  sixth  century,  and  the  perfection  of 
the  work  is  such,  that  it  could  hardly  be  reached  so  early  as 
the  sixth  century.  For  such  perfection  would  be  reached  only 
after  the  Church  had  conquered  all  its  enemies  and  had  settled 
down  peacefully  in  its  triumph,  enabled  to  cultivate  literature 
and  art.  Nor  could  St.  Columba  himself,  active  and  zealous 
and  hard-working  missionary  that  he  was,  spare  the  time 
sufficient  for  such  slow  and  painstaking  work.  His  name  has 
been  associated  with  it — it  was  called  the  Gospel  of  Columcille — X 
because  it  was  he  who  founded  the  monastery    of  Kells,  and 

*  Stokes,  pp:  8^  9: 

t  Westwood,  author  of  Anglo-Saxon  and  Irish  MSS.j  examined  the 
Book  of  Kells  for  hours  with  a  magnifying  glass,  and  could  discern  not 
a  single  false  line  or  irregular  interlacement,  and  in  a  space  of  three  quarter 
of  an  inch  by  a  half  inch  in  width  he  counted  158  interlacements  (Douglas 
Hyde,  Literary  History  of  Ireland ^  p.  462.) 

X  Stokes,  pp.  II,  12.       Reeves'  Adamnan,  p.  328. 


CULTIVATION   AND   CONDITION   OF   THE   ARTS.  l6l 

it  was  in  that  monastery  that  the  manuscript  was  used.  Its 
history,  like  the  country  to  which  it  belongs,  was  chequered 
and  eventful.  In  Kells  it  was  covered  by  a  costly  shrine  made 
of  gold,  or  at  least  in  which  gold  was  used,  and  in  the  eleventh 
century  it  was  stolen  from  the  western  sacristy  of  the  monastery. 
Its  shrine  was  taken  away  and  the  book  itself  was  buried  in 
the  earth,  where  it  was  discovered  and  dug  up,  after  two  months 
and  twenty  days.*  The  manuscript  itself  suffered  little  or  no 
injury.  It  became  subsequently  the  property  of  Archbishop 
Usher  and  after  the  Restoration  it  came  with  what  remained 
of  his  library,  "ex  dono  Caroli  II,"  into  the  custody  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin,  where  it  still  remains  "  the  admiration  and 
astonishment  ot  everyone  who  examines  it."f  It  is  a  wonderful 
book.  A  cursory  glance  would  declare  that  there  was  a  redun- 
dancy of  figures  and  lines  and  curves,  a  to3  great  wealth  of 
colour,  a  disorder  and  confusion  even  in  its  splendour.  But 
a  closer  examination,  and  a  minuter,  will  correct  the  falseness 
of  this  hasty  judgment  ;  and  the  more  it  is  examined  the  greater 
appears  its  wealth  of  beauty — figures,  lines  and  colouring  are 
so  skilfully  blended,  that  it  is  amazing.  There  is  no  confusion, 
no  disorder,  at  every  fresh  examination  new  beauties  are  re- 
vealed.J  "  Serpents,  lizards,  birds  with  legs  and  necks  elongated 
and  interlaced  are  found  in  every  part  of  the  great  monogram 
page,  while  the  human  form  is  seen  in  four  weird  figures,  whose 
bodies  are  entangled  with  those  of  birds  and  who  are  blowing 
trumpets,  which  instruments  are  elongated  so  as  to  entwine 
the  musicians  in  their  inextricable  coils.  Three  angels  bearing 
books  and  one  holding  a  sceptre  crowned  by  a  trefoil  in  each 
hand  are  seen  to  rest  with  outspread  wings  upon  the  main 
line  of  the  letter  X,  while  in  the  centre  of  the  P  a  man's  face 
appears,  bearded,  but  not  aged,  and  above  all,  and  as  it  were, 
emerging  from  a  labyrinth  of  spiral  lines,  diverging  and  con- 
verging in  endless  succession,  rises  the  veiled  head  of  a  woman."  |1 
A  German  scholar.  Dr.  Waagen  of  Berlin,  has  declared  of  the 
Book  of  Kells  that  "  the  ornamental  pages,  borders  and  initial 
letters  exhibit  such  a  rich  variety  of  beautiful  and  peculiar 
designs,  so  admirable  a  taste  in  the  arrangement  of  the  colours, 
and    such    an    uncommon    perfection  of    finish,  that   one    feels 


•  Four  Masters  at  the  year  1006.     "  This  was  the  principal  relic  of  the 
western  world  on  account  of  its  singular  cover." 

\  Reeve's  Adamnan^  p.   328.     Whoever  sees  it  and  examines  it  will 
fully  agree  with  Dr.  Reeves. 

X  Cambrensts,  p.  99.     Giraldus  thought  it  could  not  be  done  by  man 
and,  perhaps,  was  written  by  an  angel. 

II  Stokes,  p.   15. 

M 


1 62  HISTORY    OF   IRELAND. 

absolutely  struck  with  amazement."*  It  is  not  the  language  of 
exaggeration  to  say  that  it  is  the  most  beautiful  book  in  existence. 

Working  in  metals  was  understood  in  Ireland,  even  before 
Christianity  was  introduced,  but  it  was  in  Christian  times  and 
under  the  impulse  of  Christianity,  that  the  art  reached  its 
highest  excellence.  The  illuminated  manuscript  was  the  work 
of  some  pious  monk,  whose  memory  was  revered  and  whose 
life  and  acts  were  considered  in  later  times  as  the  life  and  acts 
of  a  saint,  and  the  book  which  came  from  his  saintly  hands, 
and  was  the  product  of  his  enthusiasm  and  his  skill  was  a  precious 
inheritance,  deserving  of  the  greatest  care,  and  worthy  of  the 
most  costly  shrine.  His  bones,  a  lock  of  his  hair,  a  tooth,  a 
shred  of  the  garments  that  he  wore,  the  book  from  which  he 
preached  to  the  people,  the  staff  which  supported  the  tottering 
steps  of  his  old  age,  the  bell  which  called  the  people  to  his  Mass, 
the  crozier  which  he  wielded  as  a  bishop — such  as  these  were 
objects  of  similar  reverence  and  considered  worthy  of  similar 
honor.  And  some  of  the  finest  metal  work  of  those  times  were 
shrines  for  those  saintly  relics.  In  the  eighth  and  ninth 
centuries,  there  were  few,  if  any,  of  the  principal  churches  in 
Ireland,  which  had  not  these  costly  shrines,  f  But  the  North- 
man came,  with  no  love  for  the  Church  and  no  reverence  for 
the  shrine  or  its  contents,  but  with  much  greed  for  the  precious 
metals  from  which  it  was  made.  Evil  example  is  easily  and 
quickly  copied.  The  native  chief  learned  to  commit  sacrilege 
from  the  foreigner,  and  one  by  one  the  shrines  disappeared. 
But  there  are  still  a  few  which  survived  those  dark  days  and 
the  equally  dark  days  that  followed — covers  for  books,  covers 
for  bells  and  for  croziers,  and,  besides,  vessels  for  the  altar, 
such  as  chalices,  and  at  least  one  notable  cross,  the  well-known 
Cross  of  Cong. 

In  other  countries  books  were  splendidly  bound,  +  but 
in  Ireland  they  were  considered,  after  the  lapse  of  time,  too 
sacred  to  be  touched  and  were  regarded  in  particular  clans 
as  pious  heirlooms.  Lying  in  its  precious  shrine,  the  book 
was  committed  to  the  custody  of  an  important  and  respected 
member  of  the  clan,  whose  family  became  its  hereditary  guardians  ; 
it  was  borne  into  battle  by  the  order  of  the  chief  as  an  assurance 
that  the  writer  of  the  book  was    assisting  them   by  his  prayers  ; 

T*  Westwood.  Anglo-Saxon  and  Irish  MSS.,  p.  24.  Westwood  has 
reproduced  a  few  whole  pages  from  the  Book  of  Kells^  and  in  Trinity  College 
may  be  seen  many  of  the  initial  letters  also,  reproduced  by  a  lady.  The 
reproduction  in  each  case  is  fresher  and  more  vivid  than  the  original,  and 
is,  no  doubt,  such  as  the  original  when  fresh  from  the    scribe's  hands. 

t  Hyde's  Literary  History,  p.  457. 

X  Stokes,  p.  88. 


CULTIVATION   AND   CONDITION   OF   THE   ARTS.  1 63 

and  the  chief  of  Tirconnell  had  such  reverence  for  the   cathach, 
or  battle-book,   which    was  preserved    in   his    family,   that    he 
dreaded  even  if  it  were    opened  he  was  to  be  visited  by  some 
crushing    calamity.*     These    shrines     were    called     Cumdachs. 
That  of  the  Book  of  Durrow  t  has    been  lost  and  a  special  entry 
in  the  Four  Masters  records  that  the  same  fate  befel  the  cumdach 
of  the  Book  of  Kells.     But  the  shrine  of  St.   Molaise  still  remains, 
and  is  in  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,  Dublin.    It  was  executed 
within  the  years  looi  to  1025,  is  formed  of  plates  of  bronze,  oblong 
in  shape  ;  and  the  ornamental  portions  consist  of  plates  of  silver 
with  gilt  patterns,  riveted  to  the  bronze  foundation.  |      There 
is  also  the  shrine  of  the  Stowe  missal,  as  well  as  that  to  contain 
the   cathach   or   battle-book   of    the   O'Donnells.     Croziers,   like 
books,  were  also  sacred  objects,    had  their  special  guardian  and 
were  carried  into  battle  ;  and  the  belief  in   Hy-many  was  that 
when  the  crozier  of    St.    Grellin  was  carried  in  the  ranks    of 
battle,  the  O'Kellys  were  certain  of  victory,  for  St.  Grellin  was 
aiding  them  in  the  fight.  ||     The  croziers  were  made  of  wood, 
but  it  is   the   metal  ornamental  covering   in   which   they   were, 
which   challenges   attention,   in   considering   the   metal-worker's 
art,   and   to   what   proficiency   it   had   attained.       There   are   in 
existence  portions  of  the    crozier  of  St.  Dympna,  of  St.  Colman 
of  Kilmacduach  and  of  St.  Berach — the  latter  in  the  Museum  of 
Science  and  Art,  Dublin.*  *   Of  bells,  the  oldest  we  have,  the  oldest 
specimen  of  metal  work  ot    any  kind  in  Christian  times,  is  St. 
Patrick's  bell.     It  is  rude  in  design   and  shape  and  entirely  with- 
out ornament,  nothing  more  than  plates  of  iron  joined  by  rivets 
and   covered  over  on   the  inside  with  bronze   which   helped   to 
give  resonance  to  its  sound,  jf     In  the  bronze  bells  of  the  tenth 
century,  such  as  that  of  Cumasach,  we  have  an  example  of  a 
bell  of  cast  bronze,  the  sound  of  which  as  well  as  the  workman- 
ship is  separated  from  the  bell  ot    St.  Patrick  by  a  large  interval 
of  artistic  skill.  J  J     Like  the  books,  these  bells  had  their  shrines 
made  for  them  especially  in  the  period  extending  from  the  tenth 
to   the   twelfth  century,   the  shrine  of   St.    Patrick's  bell   being 
manufactured  between  1091  and  1105,  a  fact  which  is  gathered 
from  the  inscription. ||||     Brass,  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones 
are  the  materials  employed  ;  the  ornamentation    as  in  the  illu- 

*  Stokes,  p.  89. 

t  The  Book  of  Durrow  itself  is  in  Trinity  College. 

+  Stokes,  p.  91 ; 

II  Ibid.,  p.    loi; 

**  Ibid.,  pp.  97-99. 

tt  Stokes,  p.   58. 

XX  Ibid.,  p.  65.  , 

nil  Ibid.  p.  66. 


164  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

minated  manuscript  being  interlaced  work  ;  and  the  skill  with 
which  the  threads  of  silver  and  gold  are  interlaced,  the  fineness 
of  their  texture,  the  accuracy  and  skill  with  which  the  scribes 
art  is  reproduced  in  metal  are  admirable,  and  show  to  what 
a  height  of  perfection    the  metal  worker's  art  had  reached. 

Besides  these  croziers  and  bells  and  shrines,  there  are  three 
other  objects  ot  Irish  metal  work  which    for  beauty    and  finish 
can    hardly    be    surpassed.     These     are    the   Tara    Brooch,     the 
Ardagh   Chalice,   and    the   Cross   of    Cong.     The   Tara   Brooch 
is  made  of  white  bronze,  a    compound  of  copper  and  tin.     The 
number  and  variety  of  its  ornamented  patterns  of  which  seventy- 
six  different  kinds  are  perceived,  the  delicacy  of  the  filigree  work, 
the   happy   combination   of   ornaments   of   amber   and    enamels 
and  translucent  glass  have  caused   Petrie  to  declare,   that  it  is 
superior  to  any  hitherto  found  in  the  variety  of  its  ornaments 
and  in  the   exquisite   delicacy   and  perfection  of  its  execution  * 
Of   the  same   age,  and  even   more   elaborate   in   ornamentation 
is  the  Ardagh  Chalice,  dug  up  at  Ardagh,  in  the  last  century, 
by  a  boy  who  was  digging  potatoes.     The  metals  are  gold,  silver 
and  bronze,  its    ornaments  are  of  every  kind  peculiar  to  Irish 
Art — enamels,  coloured    glass,    amber,    the  gold  filigree    work  is 
shaped  and  drawn  into  every  variety  of  form  ;  there  are  different 
varieties  of  birds  in  its  designs  ;    there  are  other  animal-forms 
as  well  ;  there  are  dragon's  heads  ;  and  so    cleverly  are  all  these 
blended,  that  even  the  Tara  brooch   can  hardly  rival  it  in  beauty, 
and  among  chalices  of   that,  or  any  preceding  age,    it  stands 
unsurpassed  .f     Of  a    later  age — it  can  hardly  be  said  of  more 
matured  beauty  of  design — is  the  Cross  of  Cong.     It  was  made 
during  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century  during    the  reign 
of  Turlcgh  O'Connor.     His  genius  in  war  had  raised  him  from 
the  obscure  position  of  King  of  Connaught  to  be  first  among 
the   kings   of   Ireland,   and,   pre-eminent   in   war,  he   was    also 
ambitious  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace,  and  gathered  around 
him  some  of  the  most  skilled  artists    in  metal  work  and  stone. 
It  was  from  the  hands  of  one  of  these  the  Cross  of  Cong  came. 
It  was  made  to  enshrine  a  portion  ot  the  true  cross,  was  made 
for  the  Church  of  Tuam,  and  meant  to  be  carried  in  processions, 
the  ornamental  cross  being  fixed  on  a  long  shaft  and  borne  on 
high.       The    upright     portion    ot    the     cross    is    thirty     inches, 
the  cross  bar  a  little    over  eighteen  inches,  and  the  thickness 
is  one  and  three  quarter  inches.  The  shaft  rises  from  the  mouth  of 
an  animal  whose  head  rests  on  a  spherical  ball  and  this  surmounts 
the  socket  in  which  was  temporarily  inserted  in  the  long  shaft 

*  Stokesy  pp.  7 6-7 J i 
t  Ibid.i  pp.  82-88. 


CULTIVATION   AND   CONDITION   OF   THE   ARTS.  1 65 

when  the  cross  was  carried  in  procession.  The  cross  itself  is 
made  of  oak,  but  it  is  the  covering  ot  the  face  and  back  and 
sides  that  excites  admiration.  Over  the  plates,  which  cover 
the  wood,  there  is  much  gold  filigree  work,  the  carving  and  inter- 
lacing being  distinctively  Irish,  and  of  many  and  beautiiul 
patterns.  Along  the  face  were  many  jewels,  thirteen  of  which 
still  remain  ;  at  the  central  plate  where  the  arms  of  the  cross 
meet,  is  a  boss  surmounted  by  a  convex  crystal,  and  round  the 
boss  were  four  beads,  two  of  which  still  remain.  There  are 
inscriptions  asking  for  prayers  foi  Turlogh  O'Connor,  the 
reigning  King,  for  O' Duffy,  the  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  and  for 
O'Egan,  the  artist.  The  Cross,  originally  used  at  Tuam,  was 
transferred  to  Cong  by  Roderick  O'Connor.  It  was  lost  during 
the  troubled  times  of  the  Reformation,  and  lay  hidden  during 
the  long  night  of  the  penal  times,  until  finally,  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  it  was  recovered,  and  now  lies  in  the  Museum  of 
Science  and  Art,  Dublin,  where  it  can  be  seen.*  And  those  who 
see  it  and  admire  it  can  declare,  that  the  metal  workers  of  the 
present  may  with  advantage  sit  at  the  feet  of  their  ancestors, 
for  they  can  learn  much  from  those  artists  of  the  far  distant 
past. 

When  St.  Patrick  came  to  Ireland,  the  arts  of  architecture 
and  sculpture  were  but  little  cultivated  by  the  inhabitants. 
The  use  of  the  stone  chisel  was  understood  and  the  inscriptions 
in  ogham,  show  that  it  was  used  to  carve  inscriptions  on  stone. 
But  these  inscriptions  are  of  the  rudest  character,  and  in  building" 
it  was  the  same.  Most  of  the  houses,  no  doubt,  were  of  wood 
and  these  have  long  since  perished  ;  and  what  remains  of  stone 
buildings  are  not  many.  A  few  forts,  such  as  Dun  Engus, 
Arran  Islands,  are  the  most  remarkable.  They  have  been 
called,  and  justly,  Cyclopean  buildings,  for  not  even  the  Cyclops 
could  have  made  any  impression  upon  them.  Mortar  was  not 
used,  nor  even  grouting,  and  the  stones,  unpolished  and  uneven, 
are  laid  together  so  as  to  make  walls  enormously  high  and  almost 
equally  thick,  f  With  the  builders  the  chief  consideration  was 
strength  and  solidity  ;  they  built  as  it  would  seem  for  eternity. 
The  walls  of  Dun  Engus  have  lived  through  the  changing 
scenes  of  more  than  two  thousand  years  ;  wind  and  weather 
have  not  affected  them  ;  they  are  likely  to  live  on,  for 
nothing  but  an  earthquake  could  overturn  them.  In  speaking 
of  the  church  built  at  Lindisfarne  by  Finian,  its  bishop,  Bede 
says,     that    he     built    it    of    wood,    after    the    manner  of    the 

*  Stokes,  pp.  107-109. 

t  The  walls  are  twenty  feet  high  and  eighteen  feet  thick  (Stokes 
Building  and  Architecture,  p.  34.) 


l66  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Irish,*  as  if  to  indicate  that  the  churches  in  Ireland  were  all  built 
of  wood.      And  when   Malachy  was  building  a  stone  church  at 
Bangor,  objection  was  made  that  they  were  Irish  and  not  Gauls, 
and,  therefore,  in  the  Irish  fashion,  the  church  should  be  of  wood. 
From  these,  and  other  such  statements,  it  has  been  concluded 
that  all  the  Irish  churches  were  of  wood,  and  that  stone  was 
never  used.        Such  a  conclusion  is  not  just.     Wood  abounded 
in  Ireland  then  ;  its  forests  were  large,  timber  was  easily  obtained, 
and  with  timber  material  a  church  was  easily  built,  much  easier 
than  with  stone,  and  hence  timber  was    extensively  used.     But 
there   were  places  where,   on   the  contrary,   timber  was  scarce 
and  stones  were  plenty  ;  the  material  next  to  hand  was  employed, 
and  as  early  as  the  days  of  St.  Patrick    there  were  churches  of 
stone.      These   churches,   modelled   perhaps   on   a   design   intro- 
duced by  St.    Patrick  himself,  were  simple  in  plan  and  all  built 
on    the   same   lines.       They   were   quadrangular   in   shape,    the 
largest  being  not  more  than  sixty  feet  in  length — that  at  Inchigoil 
in  Lough  Corrib  was  only  thirty-five — the  door  and  only    door 
was  on  the  west  end,  the  chancel,  when  there  was  one,  at  the 
east  end  and  connected   with  the  nave  by  a  semicircular  arch.  | 
There  were  no  side  aisles,  no  transepts,  no  apse,  as  in  the  Roman 
basilicas.     The  roof  was  often  of  wood  covered  with  reeds,  or 
straw,  or  shingles — in  the  smaller  churches  sometimes  of  stone. ;[: 
The   windows   were   few   and   small,   without   glass,   splayed   in- 
ternally,    and    sometimes    were    triangular    headed,    sometimes 
semicircular.il       The     doors     were     never    arched,   but   instead 
were  covered     with    a    lintel,  and    were  narrower  at    the   top 
than  at  the  bottom.       The  walls  were  faced  with  large    stones, 
whose  surfaces  were  made  smooth  ;  in  the  centre  was  rubble, 
and  in  the  course  of  time,  grouting.     The  doors  and  windows, 
especially    the   doorways,    were    made   with    very   large     stones, 
the  lintel  being  usually  of  great    size.       The  lintel  used  in  the 
doorway  of  the  church  at  Kilmacduagh  was  nearly  six  feet  long, 
thirty  eight  inches  wide  and  twenty-one  inches  thick  ;  its  weight 
must  have  been  considerable,  and   the  labour  of  placing  it  in 
position  great.**    Such  were   the   churches   built   in    the   sixth 
and  seventh  centuries,  small  compared  to  those  of  a  later  date, 
plain  but  strong,  built  to  last,  and  without  ornament  of  any 

*  Bede's  Ecclesiastical  History,  Book  III.,  chap.  25.  "He  made  it 
(the  church),  not  of  stone  but  of  hewn  wood,  and  covered  it  with  reeds  ;" 
it  was  afterwards  covered  with  plates  of  lead. 

t  Petrie.  Round  Towers  and  Ancient  Architecture  of  Ireland,  pp. 
162-4. 

X  Ibid.,  pp.    186-7. 

II  Ibid.,  p.    183: 

**  Petrie,  p.    176. 


CULTIVATION   AND   CONDITION   OF   THE   ARTS.  1 67 

kind,  if  we  except  an  attempt  at  architrave  in  one  or  two  instances. 
Such  were  the  churches  of  Inchigoill,  of  Ratass,  near  Tralee, 
of  Our  Lady's  Church  at  Glendalough,  of  Fore  in  Westmeath, 
all  built  before  the  close  of  the  seventh  century,  the  first  named, 
that  at  Inchigoill,  having  an  inscription,  which  fixes  the  date 
of  its  construction  as  early  as  the  days  of  St.  Patrick. 

These  buildings  exhibit  Irish  architecture  in  its  infancy. 
It  was  not,  perhaps,  poverty  that  compelled  the  people  to  build 
in  such  simple  fashion,  nor  could  it  be  ignorance  where  the 
arts  were  so  flourishing.  With  their  attachment  to  the  past  and 
their  veneration  for  the  first  Saints,  it  may  have  been  a  reluctance 
to  change  from  the  models  given  them.  And  such  churches, 
where  the  view  of  the  altar  was  uninterrupted  and  where  the 
decorations  that  art  supplies  did  not  attract  the  attention  of  the 
worshippers  nor  turn  their  minds  from  their  devotions,  con- 
sorted well  with  a  people  whose  piety  was  so  remarkable  and 
whose  faith  was  so  earnest  and  so  intense.  But  this  primitive 
simplicity  could  not  last.  There  was  much  intercourse  with 
the  continent.  The  students,  who  flocked  to  the  schools  of 
Ireland,  drew  glowing  pictures  of  the  splendour  of  churches 
in  foreign  lands  ;  the  Irish,  who  went  abroad,  contrasted  with 
a  sigh  their  own  rudely  built  churches  with  the  products  of 
Roman  architecture  ;  a  spirit  of  emulation  among  the  Irish 
was  engendered,  and  as  they  acquired  eminence  in  the  illumi- 
nation of  manuscripts  and  in  metal  work  and  their  fame  as 
scholars  was  world  wide,  they  also  began  to  cultivate  the  arts 
of  architecture  and  sculpture,  and  they  did  so  with  success. 
The  doors,  as  well  as  the  windows  of  the  churches,  began  to 
be  built  with  semicircular  arches  at  the  top,  instead  of  the 
horizontal  lintel,  ornaments  were  employed,  and  in  the  door- 
ways of  the  churches  at  Inniscaltra  and  Kildare,  both  of  which 
are  referred  to  the  end  of  the  eighth,  or  beginning  of  the  ninth 
century, we  have  three  concentric  receding  arches  instead  of  one,* 
we  have  ornamented  columns  zigzag,  or  chevron  moulding, 
on  the  inner  roof,  or  soffit,  of  one  arch,  while  on  another  is 
some  pattern  taken  from  flowers.f  The  capitals  of  the  columns 
are  decorated  with  human  heads,  the  bases  of  the  columns 
are  similarly  decorated  and  the  intricacy  and  skill  with  which 
the  hair  of  these  heads  is  joined  together,  plaited  and  interwoven, 
recall  the  ornaments  of  the  illuminated  manuscripts. J  More 
varied  in  its  decorations,  perhaps  also  of  a  later  date,  is  the 
chancel  arch   in  the  church  at  Glendalough. ||     But  a  fatal  check 

*  Petrie,  pp.  282-3.     This  was  the  doorway  at  Inniscaltra; 

t  Ibid.,  p.  209. 

+  Ibid.,  p.  236.     This  was  the  doorway  at  Timahoe. 

II  Ibid.,  pp.  256-7.     This  was   the  Church  of  the   Monastery. 


1 68  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  given  to  this  advancement  in  decoration  and  design.  When 
the  Danes  came,  they  everywhere  attacked  the  churches,  and 
instead  of  new  and  more  beautiful  churches  being  built  the 
existing  ones  were  destroyed,  nor  was  it  until  the  Danes  them- 
selves were  vanquished,  that  the  work  of  church  building  could 
be  resumed. 

There  had  been  many  changes  in  the  meantime.  The 
basilican  churches  had  given  place  to  the  primitive  Romanesque, 
and  this  again  to  a  Romanesque  style,  more  finished,  more 
decorated,  more  complete.  In  France,  in  England,  in  Ireland 
and  in  Italy,  the  churches  were  all  built  on  a  Roman  model,* 
but  the  architecture  of  each  country  had  its  distinctive  peculiarities, 
was  modified  by  local  surroundings,  and  was  shaped  in  accordance 
with  the  tastes  and  genius  of  the  people.  And  in  each  country 
the  progress  was  gradual.  In  the  chancel  arch  of  the  church 
at  Killaloe,  built  probably  by  Brian  Boru,  there  are  concentric 
arches,  the  shafts  of  the  columns  from  which  these  arches  spring 
are  cylindrical,  and  the  capitals  of  the  columns  are  ornamental  ;t 
more  highly  decorated  is  the  doorway  of  the  church  at  Freshford,j 
but  the  highest  and  most  perfect  type  of  Irish  Romanesque 
is  Cormac's  Chapel,  built  on  the  Rock  of  Cashel.  Nearly  eight 
centuries  have  passed  since  it  was  completed — in  the  reign  of 
Cormac  MacCarthy,  King  of  Cashel  |1 — and  walls  and  doorways 
and  windows  and  stone  roof  still  remain,  firm  and  uninjured, 
as  little  affected  by  storm  and  weather  and  the  destroying  in- 
fluence of  time  as  the  rock  upon  which  the  church  stands.  It 
is  not  a  large  church,  it  is  rather  a  royal  chapel,  as  indicated 
by  its  name.  It  has  neither  aisles  nor  transepts,  and,  except 
two  towers  which  are  Norman  looking  in  appearance,  it  has 
nothing  but  a  nave  and  chancel,  with  the  usual  chancel  arch 
as  a  connecting  link.  But  it  lacks  nothing  in  multiplicity  and 
variety  of  ornament.  The  openings  are  all  arched  with  the 
rounded  semicircular  arch,  resting  on  cylindrical  columns  ; 
these  openings  consist  of  many  concentric  arches,  that  of  one 
door  having  no  less  than  five  different  ones  ;  and  doorways  and 
windows  and  chancel  arch  are  all  decorated.**  The  shafts 
of  the  columns  are  in  some  cases  fluted;  some  of  the  arches  have 
chevron  mouldings,  in  another  case  it  is  a  series  of  human  heads, 
but  the  greatest  diversity  of  ornamentation  occurs  in  the  capitals 
of  the  columns.     There  are  animals  of  various    kinds,  interlaced 

*  Architecture — Classic    and    Early     Christian    (Smith     and    Slater, 
Art  Hand  Bcx)ks),  pp.  203-223,  et  seq. 
t  Petrie,  p.  283. 
%  Ibid.-j  p.  285. 

II  Ibid.,  pp.  290-1.     It   was   consecrated   either   in    11 34   or    1135. 
**  Miss  Stokes,  p.  yj  {Building  and  Architecture.) 


CULTIVATION   AND   CONDITION   OF  THE   ARTS.  1 69 

horse  shoes,  inverted  truncated  cones,  one  like  the  Ionic  volute, 
grotesque  heads — human  and  otherwise,  and  other  ornamenta- 
tions somewhat  difficult  to  classify  or  describe.*  This  diversity 
of  ornament  recalls,  not  the  pattern,  but  rather  the  number 
of  the  decorations  on  the  Tara  brooch.  The  roof  is  vaulted, 
its  construction  showing  considerable  scientific  skill,  it  was  also 
frescoed,  the  colours  of  the  frescoes  being  red,  yellow,  brown  and 
white.  Had  Giraldus  seen  this  beautiful  church,  he  would 
hardly  have  spoken  of  the  Irish  as  a  barbarous  people,  and  he 
would  have  learned  that  besides  music  they  cultivated  others  of 
the  fine  arts  and  excelled  in  them. 

In  addition  to  the  ornamentation  on  the  doorways  and 
windows  of  the  churches,  several  other  examples  of  ancient 
Irish  sculpture  remain.  There  are  many  Ogham  inscribed 
stones,  which  belong  to  an  earlier  period  ;  there  are  tombstones 
which  are  usually  flat  slabs  laid  upon  the  earth  ,  there  are  pillar 
stones  and  altar  stones,  but  the  finest  specimens  of  Irish  sculpture 
are  the  High  Crosses.  Their  age  has  been  ascertained  as  ex- 
tending from  the  tenth  to  the  thirteenth  century  ;  their  object 
was  to  commemorate  some  deed,  or  to  be  dedicated  to  the  memory 
of  some  saint.  Their  form  is  that  of  the  Latin  Cross,  the  most 
characteristically  Irish  feature  being  the  circle  which  in  every 
case  surrounds  the  arms  of  the  cross.  The  faces  and  sides  are 
divided  into  panels,  each  panel  having  a  group  of  sculptured 
figures  intended  to  illustrate  some  event  in  the  Old  or  New 
Testament,  or  to  impart  some  Christian  lesson.  On  one  of  the 
crosses  at  Monasterboice,  in  the  panels  which  have  been  so 
far  deciphered,  the  subjects  are  the  Fall  of  Man,  the  Expulsion 
from  Eden,Adam  Delves  and  Eve  Spins,  Cain  killing  Abel,  the 
Magi,  Michael  and  Satan  at  the  weighing  of  Souls,  and  the 
Crucifixion  and  Last  Judgment.  On  another  Cross  there  were 
twenty-four  panels,  in  only  six  of  which  the  groups  of  figures 
have  been  deciphered  ;  at  Clonmacnoise,  of  twenty-four  panels, 
just  half  of  the  groups  can  be  made  out,  and  at  the  Tuam  Cross, 
on  one  side  is  the  Crucifixion,  on  another  the  figure  of  a  bishop, 
and  on  another  panel  a  funeral  procession.  |  Surrounding 
these  panels  and  running  along  the  sides  and  arms  of  the  cross 
are  various  ornamentations — the  interlaced  lines,  the  divergent 
spirals,  which  are  met  with  so  often  in  manuscripts  and  on  metal 
work,  and  which  are  produced  on  these  stones  with  a  fidelity, 
a  delicacy,  a  lightness  of  touch,  a  happy  combination  of  one 
with  another,  which  could  only  come  from  the  highest  artistic 
skill. 


*  Petrie,  pp.  296-304. 

t  Stokes,  pp.   18-22.  {Sculptured, 


170  HISTORY   OF    IRELAND. 

The  sculptured  figures  themselves — bishops,  abbots,  kings, 
saints  and  angels  are  but  rudely  drawn,  and  it  is  here 
that  the  failure  of  the  Irish  sculptors  is  conspicuous.  The 
artists  knew  little  of  human  anatomy.  The  feet  and  hands 
are  disproportioned,  the  figure  awkward  and  ungainly,  the 
features  vague  and  ill-defined,  the  face  without  power— <iull, 
inanimate  and  expressionless,  where  neither  passion  nor  emotion 
are  portrayed,  and  where  we  fail  to  read  pride  or  power,  or 
courage,  or  fear,  or  anguish,  or  despair.  And  the  draperies 
are  equally  rude — ill-fashioned  and  ill-arranged — thrown  care- 
lessly upon  the  figure,  without  any  sense  of  artistic  fitness, 
or  any  lines  of  beauty  in  their  folds.  It  is  art  in  its  infancy, 
where  the  shadows  cast  are  grotesque,  and  the  moving  sentient 
human  figure  does  not  appear.  But  it  is  right  to  remember 
that  the  sculptor's  object  was  to  convey  a  religious  lesson, 
to  preach  a  sermon  in  stone,  and  not  to  portray  the  beauty 
and  symmetry  of  the  human  form.  To  cause  the  naked  human 
figure  to  exhibit  its  strength  and  proportions,  the  muscles  of 
the  body,  the  play  of  the  features,  the  emotions  with  which  it 
was  stirred — they  would  have  considered  such  a  debasement 
ot  sculpture,  a  servile  and  unworthy  copying  ot  the  pagans. 
Their  art  was  directed  and  controlled  and  permeated  by  religion, 
it  was  its  handmaiden,  if  necessary,  even  its  slave.  It  was  the 
lesson  of  the  Crucifixion,  of  the  Resurrection,  of  the  Betrayal 
of  Christ  and  the  other  scenes  they  drew,  it  was  these  lessons 
above  all  that  they  wished  to  teach.  It  was  upon  these  scenes 
they  wanted  the  spectators  to  fix  their  thoughts,  and  not  upon 
the  beauty  of  the  separate  sculptured  figures  ;  and,  perhaps, 
the  rude  figures  that  they  drew  attained  better  the  object  they 
had  before  their  minds,  than  if  they  had  chiselled  them  with 
the   genius   of   Phidias  or   Praxiteles. 

But  of  all  the  works  of  stone,  which  have  survived  the  wreck 
of  ages,  and  whose  appearance  points  to  a  far  distant  past,  the 
most  widely  known,  the  most  spoken  of  and  written  of,  are  the 
Round  Towers.  There  is  some  diversity  in  the  masonry  of 
these  buildings,  for  the  roughly  dressed  stones  of  Lusk  and 
Clondalkin,  and  their  narrow,  square-headed  apertures  separate 
them  by  a  long  interval  from  the  round-arched  and  decorated 
openings  of  Timahoe  and  Ardmore.*  Some  of  these  towers 
are  now  imperfect,  but  a  good  number  still  remain  in  their 
original  condition,  and  among  them  there  is  some  variation 
in  the  height,  the  highest — that  of  Lusk — being  one  hundred 
feet,  while  that  of  Turlough,  in  Mayo,  is  only  seventy  feet.  The 
architectural   features   are   the  same   throughout — a   tall   round 

*  Miss  Stokes,  p.   51.     {Building  and  Architecture) 


CULTIVATION   AND   CONDITION   OF   THE   ARTS.  I7I 

tower,  pierced  along  its  sides  by  a  few  narrow  openings,  and 
covered  with  a  stone  cone-like  roof.  It  is,  however,  round 
the  question  as  to  what  was  the  origin  and  uses  of  these  buildings, 
that  controversies  have  raged.  Finding  these  structures  different 
from  any  in  other  countries,  and  in  Ireland  itself,  a  survival 
of  a  long  past  age,  the  records  of  which  in  part  at  least  have 
been  lost,  many  have  undertaken  to  say,  when  and  for  what 
purpose  they  were  built,  and  each  has  his  own  peculiar  theory 
to  propound.  In  origin  they  were  said  to  be  Danish,*  or 
Phoenician,  they  were  said  to  be  fire  temples,f  or  lofty  heights 
from  which  the  Druidical  festivals  were  to  be  proclaimed,  as 
the  muezzin'  proclaims  prayer  from  the  minaret.  They  were 
said  to  be  astronomical  observatories,  or  phallic  emblems,  or 
Buddhist  temples,  or  anchorite  towers  or  penitential  prisons, 
and  lastly,  they  were  belfries  or  monastic  keeps,  or  watch- 
towers.  Of  these  theories,  some  are  ingenious,  some  are  absurd, 
some  are  fanciful  and  arbitrary,  most  are  sustained  with  learning 
and  ability,  and  not  a  few  are  supported  by  great  names.  But 
neither  by  itself  is  satisfactory,  and  the  problem  as  to  when  and 
why  they  were  built,  seemed  to  be  as  insoluble  as  the  riddle  of 
the  sphinx.  At  last  a  man  appeared,  who  had  no  theories  to 
propound,  who  sought  only  for  the  truth,  and  who  had  many 
qualifications  for  the  task  he  undertook.  This  was  George 
Petrie,  a  man  whose  services  to  Irish  Archaeology  have  been 
great,  and  whose  name  Ireland  should  always  hold  in  honour. 
His  tastes  were  antiquarian,  his  learning  was  extensive  and 
profound  ;  he  knew  the  Irish  language,  and  therefore  could 
make  use  of  ancient  chronicles  and  records  and  decipher  ancient 
inscriptions  ;  architecture  he  was  specially  familiar  with  ;  he 
was  patient  and  persevering,  had  no  pre-conceived  notions  or 
theories,  was  well  qualified  to  weigh  and  value  arguments  and 
reasons,  and  spared  neither  time  nor  labour.  He  visited  these 
towers  himself,  examined  their  peculiarities — the  style  of  their 
masonry  and  their  architecture,  and  the  buildings  with  which 
they  were  associated,  sought  out  the  various  references  to  them 
in  the  oldest  of  the  Irish  books,  and  then,  having  exhausted 
every  source  from  which  light  could  be  thrown  upon  the  inquiry, 
he  was  prepared  to  pass  judgment.  The  Danish  origin  of 
the  Towers  was  easily  disposed  of,  for  the  Danes,  neither  in 
Ireland  or  elsewhere,  built  much  ;  their  genius  was  rather  for 
destruction,  and  their  track  was  marked,  not  by  the  buildings 
they  had  erected,  but  by  the  ruins  they   had  made.      The  theory 

*  This  is  the  opinion  of  Lynch  in  his  Cambrensis  Eversus,  of  Peter 
Walsh,  of  Dr.  Molyncaux,  and  of  Ledwich  (Petrie,  pp.   5-10 
t  This  was  Vallancey's  opinion  (Petrie,  pp.   12,  13.^ 


172  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

that  they  were  of  Eastern  origin,  and  were  used  as  fire  temples 
was  that  of  Vallancey,  a  man,  says  Thomas  Davis,  "of  little  learn- 
ing, little  industry,  great  boldness,  and  no  scruples,"*qualifications 
but  ill  suited  for  success  in  historical  inquiry.  His  speculations 
are  bold  and  reckless,  his  dissertations  on  the  etymology  of 
Irish  words  ridiculous,  and  his  arguments  without  value  ;f 
and  his  theory  may  be  safely  discarded.  Nor  is  Dr.  Charles 
O'Connor  convincing  in  his  theory  that  they  were  astronomical 
towers,!  nor  Harris  and  Usher  in  thinking  that  they  were  pillar 
towers  such  as  that  on  which  Simon  Stylites  lived  ;  and  the 
Phallic  theory  never  had  any  support  except,  "  in  Henry  O'Brien's 
enthusiastic    ignorance." 

Having  disposed  of  all  these  and  such  like  theories,  Petrie's 
own  judgment  was  that  these  towers  were  built  when  Ireland 
was  harassed  by  the  Danes,  that  they  were  therefore  of  Christian 
origin,  that  their  main  purpose  was  to  serve  as  monastic  keeps, 
where  the  precious  vessels  of  the  adjoining  church  were  kept 
for  safety  and  could  be  defended  with  ease,  and  that  besides  they 
served  as  belfries,  and  were  also  used  as  watch  towers.  And 
Petrie's  reasons  are  strong  and  convincing.  They  are  usually 
found  in  connexion  with  ecclesiastical  buildings,  ||  their  archi- 
tecture in  doorways  and  windows  is  the  same  as  these  buildings 
and  distinguishable  from  the  various  remains  of  Irish  pagan 
architecture,  and  their  value  as  keeps  for  sacred  objects  is 
apparent.  The  marauding  Danes  had  special  enmity  to  the 
churches,  and  were  anxious  to  seize  the  sacred  objects  they 
contained — chalices,  ciboriums,  crosses,  shrines,  vestments  and 
manuscripts.  A  monk  placed  on  the  summit  of  one  of 
these  towers,  like  the  look-out  on  a  vessel,  or  a  sentinel  on  a  watch- 
tower,  could  easily  perceive  the  advancing  foe  and  warn  the 
inmates     of     his   monastery ;     and  when     the   Danes     arrived 

*  Davis's  Essays,  p.  67.  Vallancey  published  these  theories  in  his  work 
"  Collectanea  de  Rebus  Hibernicis." 

t  His  conjectures  have  the  appearance  of  being  learned  and  profound,- 
but  their  worthlessness  and  shallowness  are  exhaustively  examined  and 
exposed  by  Petrie  (pp.  13-30).  For  instance,  "the  Hebrew  word  gadul, 
means  great,  and  thence  a  tower;  the  Irish  name  for  a  round  tower,  cloghad,- 
is  from  gadul,  and  clogh,  a  stone;  and  the  Druids  called  every  place  of  wor- 
ship, cloghad."  (Davis's  Essays,  p.  68.)  Such  guesses  are  aptly  called 
childish  by  Davis. 

+  Dr.  Lanigan  (Vol.  IV.,  pp.  406-8),  in  part  follows  Vallancey  and  in 
part  Dr.  O'Connor,  for  he  thinks  that  the  lower  storey  of  the  Towers  would 
be  used   for  fireworship  and   the  higher   for  astronomical  observation. 

II  Dr.  Lanigan's  notion  is  that  the  Tower  came  first  in  pagan  times 
and  the  church  in  Christian  times,  the  purpose  being  to  worship  God 
in  these  places  where  formerly  they  worshipped  the  sun  and  fire.  (Vol. 
IV.,  p.  408.) 


CULTIVATION   AND   CONDITION   OF   THE   ARTS  1 73 

the  gold  and  silver  of  the  church  was  beyond  their  reach  In 
the  open  the  Danish  battle-axe  was  a  dangerous  and  effective 
weapon,  but  it  was  powerless  against  strong  walls  of  stone  ; 
the  masonry  is  not  so  easily  detached  in  a  round  building  as 
in  a  rectangular  one,  the  windows  were  small,  and  being  a  long 
distance  from  the  earth  not  easily  reached,  and  even  when  an 
entrance  to  the  tower  was  gained  a  series  of  successive  assaults 
had  to  be  made.  For  there  were  several  stories,  the  defenders 
driven  from  one  went  to  a  higher,  whence  they  could  throw 
down  stones  on  the  heads  of  their  assailants,  or  hurl  darts  at 
them  as  they  advanced.  Whoever  will  read  Petrie's  work  will  be 
struck  by  the  learning  of  the  author,  and  the  skill  with  which 
he  marshals  his  arguments,  and  he  will  conclude,  if  he  is  open 
to  argument  and  conviction,  that  fanciful  theories  can  be  safely 
laid  aside,  and  that  Petrie  has  settled,  once  and  forever,  the 
long  agitated  question  as  to  the  origin  and  use  of  the  Round 
Towers. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

The  Anglo-Norman  Invasion. 

Leinster  and  its  wars — Its  King,  Dermot  MacMurrogh — His  character — 
Took  away  the  wife  of  O'Rorke  of  Breffni — Expelled  from  Leinster — 
Sought  aid  from  Henry  H. — The  Normans  and  Anglo-Normans 
First  arrival  of  the  Anglo-Normans  in  Ireland  under  Fitzstephen 
and  Prendergast — Wexford  captured — Ossory  attacked — MacMurrogh 
and  Roderick  O'Connor — Arrival  of  Maurice  Fitzgerald — Raymond 
Le  Gros  and  Strongbow — Waterford  captured — and  Dublin — Death 
of  MacMurrogh — Strongbow  and  Henry  II. — The  Dublin  Danes — 
Roderick  O'Connor  besieges  Dublin,  but  is  defeated. 

During  the  centuries  that  preceded  the  Danish  invasion, 
the  rivalries  of  Irish  chiefs  seemed  endless,  and  each  province 
was  in  turn  the  scene  of  bloodshed  and  strife  and  must  have 
heavily  suffered  ;  but  of  all  these  provinces  none  suffered  so 
much  as  Leinster  which  was  seldom  an  aggressor  and  fought  only 
to  resist  attack.  Unjustly  burdened  with  the  Boru  tribute,  it 
paid  only  with  reluctance  and  under  compulsion,  while  successive 
Ardris  exacted  the  imposition,  with  the  infliction  of 
much  suffering  on  the  tributary  province.  With  an  army 
they  often  entered  Leinster  and  wasted  and  plundered 
it  through  its  whole  extent;  at  the  battle  of  Allen  (717) 
almost  the  whole  population  of  Leinster  was  destroyed,  and 
in  804,  Aedh  Ornaghe,  the  Ardri,  with  a  large  army  of  the 
laity  and  clergy,*  devastated  Leinster  twice  in  one  month, 
and  not  content  with  getting  his  full  demand  from  the  Leinster- 
men,  he  wantonly  entered  that  province,  in  the  following  year, 

*  Up  to  that  date  the  clergy  were  compelled  to  go  to  war  and  to  fight 
as  well  as  the  laity,  and  on  this  occasion  the  whole  clergy  of  Leath  Cuin 
were  with  the  Ardri — a  strange  occupation  for  the  clergy  it  was. 
They  complained  of  their  grievance  to  the  king  and  he  referred  the  matter 
to  Fotha,  the  Canonist,  who  wrote  a  poem  by  way  of  answer  .  He  strongly 
advised  the  king  to  dispense  with  the  attendance  of  the  clergy,  and  here- 
after they  were  not  present  in  the  battle  as  combatants.  What  seems 
strange  is  that  Adamnan  did  not  get  them  exempt  in  his  day  as  he  had 
done  in  the  case  of  women.     {Four  Masters,  Vol.  I.,  p.  409.) 


THE   ANGLO-NORMAN   INVASION.  1 75 

and  cut  it  in  two.  The  other  provinces  looked  on  while  Leinster 
was  thus  harassed  and  overrun  ;  Leinster  itself  was  overmatched 
in  the  unequal  contest,  and,  driven  to  desperation,  the  Leinster- 
men  sometimes  allied  themselves  with  the  pagan  Danes,  and 
against  those  of  their  own  country  and  faith.  On  some  occasions 
they  might  be  excused  altogether  or,  at  least,  some  palliation  of 
their  guilt  might  be  discovered, but  it  is  imposible  not  to  condemn 
their  attitude  at  Glenmama  and,  above  all,  at  Clontarf.  During 
the  long  period  of  discord  that  succeeded  the  fall  of  Brian,  Leinster 
was  no  worse  ol^  than  its  neighbours,  for  all  the  provinces  were 
wasted  by  constant  war.  all  were  reduced  to  the  same  equality, 
an  equality  of  strife  and  bloodshed  and  misery  ;  Leinster  was 
no  longer  the  outcast  it  had  been,  the  sport  of  succeeding  Ardris. 
A  time  came  when  she  attained  pre-eminence  herself ;  and  one 
of  her  kings— Dermot  Maelnambo — was,  in  his  time,  the  most 
powerful  and  the  most  feared  among  the  Irish  kings. 

In  the  twelfth  century,  Leinster  once  more  acquired  unenviable 
notoriety,  and  was  placed,  in  relation  to  the  other  provinces,  in 
a  position  of  isolation  and  antagonism  ;  and  its  king,  MacMurrogh, 
eclipsing  the  treachery  of  Maelmurra,  has  earned  for  himself 
in  history  the  odious  epithets  of  the  renegade  and  the  traitor. 
Becoming  king  in  1121,  he  gave  hostages  to  Turlogh  O'Connor 
in  the  following  year,*  but  a  few  year  later  (11 28),  he  renounced 
his  allegiance  to  the  Connaught  king.  O'Connor  was  a  dangerous 
man  to  provoke,  and  the  desertion  of  Dermot  was  followed  by 
the  devastation  of  Leinster.f  With  O'Mellaghlin  of  Meath  he 
was  at  war  in  11 36,  and  again,  eight  years  later,  when  the 
kingdom  of  Meath  was  partitioned  by  O'Connor,  MacMurrogh 
getting  a  third  of  the  province,  as  his  share  of  the  spoil.  Again 
in  alliance  with  Turlogh,  he  fought  at  the  battle  of  Moanmore 
(11 52),  so  disastrous  to  the  arms  of  Thomond.i  These  alliances 
with  the  most  powerful  of  the  Irish  kings,  coupled  with  his  own 
undoubted  capacity,  had  enlarged  the  bounds  of  his  hereditary 
possessions  and  consolidated  the  strength  of  Leinster  under  his 
own  personal  rule.  Yet  among  his  own  people  he  was  not  popular  ; 
he  was  more  feared  than  loved  ;  and  though  the  prestige  of 
success  won  him  followers,  it  did  not  win  him  their  afifection. 
The  estimate  of  his  character  given  by  Irish  writers  cannot 
safely  be  accepted,  for  the  memory  of  his  treachery  has  roused 
their  indignation,  and  the  utterance  of  indignation  is  often  the 

*  Four  Masters.  He  went  into  Turlogh's  house  in  Meath,  i.e.,  while 
Turlogh  was  there  on  an  expedition. 

t  Ibid.      He  plundered  Leinster    "  far  and  wide." 

X  He  was  at  war  with  Ossory  and  the  Danes  (1134)  and  with 
Waterford  (1137). 


176  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

utterance  of  injustice.  But  Cambrensis  had  no  special  reason 
for  hating  MacMurrogh,  or  for  heaping  obloquy  on  his  memory, 
yet  his  words  are  sufficiently  strong  and  do  not  present  Dermot 
in  a  favourable  light.  "  Dermitius,"  he  says,  "  was  tall  in  stature 
and  of  large  proportions,  and  being  a  great  warrior  and  valiant 
in  his  nation,  his  voice  had  become  hoarse  by  constantly  shouting 
and  raising  his  war-cry  in  battle.  Bent  more  on  inspiring  fear 
than  love,  he  oppressed  his  nobles  though  he  advanced  the  lowly. 
A  tyrant  to  his  own  people,  he  was  hated  by  strangers  ;  his 
hand  was  against  every  man  and  the  hands  of  every  man  against 
him."* 

In  the  early  part  of  his  reign  (1135),  he  had  scandalized  and 
outraged  the  moral  and  religious  instincts  of  his  subjects  by 
his  conduct  towards  the  convent  and  abbess  of  Kildare.  Forcibly 
entering  the  building,  with  a  number  of  his  followers,  he  dragged 
the  abbess  from  her  cloister,  and,  ignoring  her  tears  and  protes- 
tations and  the  entreaties  of  her  nuns,  he  compelled  her  to  marry 
one  of  his  soldiers.f  He  lost  the  sympathy  and  even  earned  the 
hatred  of  the  Leinster  nobles  (1141),  by  killing  the  lord  of  O'Felan 
and  the  chief  of  the  O'Tooles  and  by  killing,  or  blinding,  seventeen 
other  chiefs,  besides  others  of  inferior  rank. J  But  the  crime 
which  brought  him  into  conflict  with  the  other  Irish  chiefs  and 
which,  more  than  anything  else,  has  affixed  a  stain  upon  his 
memory  was  the  taking  away  from  her  husband  of  Dervorgille,|( 
wife  of  Tighernan  O'Rorke,  King  of  Breffni.  The  lady  was  well 
past  her  fortieth  year,  while  MacMurrogh  was  at  least  twenty 
years  older  ;  both  had  therefore  reached  an  age  when  the  force 
and  violence  of  youthful  passion  might  have  been  moderated.** 
But  MacMurrogh  never  knew  what  it  was  to  impose  restraint 
upon  his  passions,  and  it  appears  that  the  lady  herself  was  not 
an  unwilling  victim,  for  she  went  in  her  husband's  absence  and 
she  took  with  her  all  that  she  possessed  in  wealth.       Not  the 

*  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  p.  196.    {The  Conquest  of  Ireland). 

\  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.  It  appears  that  the  servants  of  the  convent 
and  the  townsmen  of  Kildare  resisted  him  by  force,  for  one  hundred  and 
seventy  of  them  were  slain  by  Dermot. 

\  Four  Masters.  It  was  not  in  open  fight  he  killed  these  chiefs,  for 
the  Four  Masters  say  that  "  he  acted  treacherously  towards  the  chieftains 
of  Leinster." 

II  Ibid.,  at  the  year   1152. 

*  Four  Masters,  at  the  year  1193.  (Note  by  O'Donovan.)  Dervorgille 
was  born  in  1108,  and  was  therefore  forty-four  years  old,  while  Dermot 
was  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his  age.  Dervorgille,  besides  her  donations 
to  Mellifont,  built  the  "Church  of  the  Nuns"  at  Clonmacnoise  (1180) 
^Annals  of  Clonmacnoise  at  the  year  1 180.)  The  description  which  Regan 
(Dermot's  secretary)  gives  of  Dervorgille  is  that  she  was  "  a  fair  and  lovely 
ladyj  entirely  beloved  of  Dermot."     (Harris's  Hibernica,  p.  11.) 


THE    ANGLO-NORMAN   INVASION  I// 

least  discreditable  part  of  the  affair  was  that  she  was  acting 
with  the  knowledge  and  under  the  advice  of  her  brother, 
O'Mellaghlin,  King  of  Meath.  O'Rorke  appealed  to  his  friend, 
Turlogh  O'Connor,  who  led  an  army  into  Leinster  (1153), 
defeated  MacMurrogh,  and  brought  away  Dervorgille  and  restored 
her  to  her  husband.  She  did  not,  however,  live  further  with  him, 
but  retired  to  the  convent  at  Mellifont,  where  she  spent  forty 
years  in  penance,  deploring  her  crime  and  lamenting  that  she 
had  brought  so  many  evils  on  her  country.  With  O'Rorke  the 
recollection  of  the  wrong  done  him  by  MacMurrogh  was  ever 
vivid,  and  once  at  least  he  entered  Leinster  and  wreaked 
vengeance  on  the  territory  of  his  foe.  But,  without  support, 
he  could  not  hope  to  punish  MacMurrogh  as  he  deserved.  With 
the  death  of  Turlogh  O'Connor,  his  most  powerful  ally  disappeared, 
and  though  Roderick,  Turlogh's  son,  was  his  ally  and  friend, 
even  more  markedly  than  Turlogh  had  been,  on  the  other  side, 
MacMurrogh  was  befriended  and  sustained  by  O'Loughlin  of 
Tirowen  ;  and  against  such  a  combination  Roderick  and  O'Rorke 
were  powerless.  But  when  O'Loughlin  was  slain  in  battle  (i  166), 
and  Roderick  O'Connor  became  Ardri,  O'Rorke's  opportunity 
came,  and  he  determined  to  chastise  the  ravisher  by  whom  he 
had  been  so  cruelly  wronged.  Aided  by  Roderick,  he  entered 
Leinster  v/ith  a  strong  force.  They  were  joined  by  MacTurkill, 
chief  of  the  Dublin  Danes — tor  they,  too,  hated  Dermot — .by 
the  King  of  Ossory,  and  by  the  various  Leinster  chiefs,  all  anxious 
to  be  emancipated  from  his  tyranny.  Unable  to  cope  with  so 
many  enemies,  Dermot  retired  to  the  monastery  of  Ferns.  He 
had  hopes  of  obtaining  assistance  from  at  least  one  powerful 
Leinster  chief — Morrogh  O' Byrne — and  sent  a  monk  from  Ferns 
with  a  letter  to  that  chief.  But  O' Byrne  would  give  him  no  assist- 
ance ;  he  willingly  joined  his  numerous  enemies,  and  Dermot, 
fearing  if  he  remained  at  Ferns  that  he  might  be  betrayed  to 
the  Ardri,  and  perhaps  put  to  death,  left  Leinster  and  fled  beyond 
the  sea.* 

In  his  distress  he  went  to  England,  hoping  to  win  back  his 
kingdom  by  the  aid  of  that  powerful  monarch,  Henry  II.,  whose 
will  was  undisputed  from  the  Tweed  to  the  Pyrenees.  On  his 
arrival  at  Bristol  (11 68),  Dermot  learned  that  Henry  was  in 
France,  and  after  a  short  stay  at  Bristol — in  the  house  of  one 
Robert  Harding — he  proceeded  thither.  He  found  the  English 
monarch  at  Aquitaine,  told  him  the  story  of  his  wrongs,  how 
his  vassals  had  all  risen  in  revolt  against  him  and  driven  him 
into  exile  ;  and  he  offered,  if  Henry  would  aid  him  in  recovering 
his  kingdom,  to  become  his  vassal  and  subject  and  serve  him 

*  Harris's  Hibernica^  p.   12.      (Regan's  narrative.) 


178  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

faithfully  during  his  life.  With  Aquitaine  in  revolt,  Henry- 
could  not  undertake  an  expedition  into  Ireland,  or  give 
Dermot  the  assistance  which  he  sought,  but  he  gave 
him  letters  authorising  his  subjects  to  give  assistance, 
and,  armed  with  these  documents,  the  exiled  King  of 
Leinster  returned  to  England,  and  to  Bristol.  To 
Richard  de  Clare,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  Dermot  first  appealed. 
A  certain  Richard  de  Clare,  a  Norman  Count,  had  come  over 
with  the  Conqueror,  who  appraised  his  services  so  highly,  that 
he  conferred  upon  him  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  seventy-one 
manors  in  England.*  One  of  his  descendants,  Gilbert  de  Clare, 
obtaining  the  requisite  licence  from  Henry  I.,  gathered  together 
a  motley  and  mercenary  army,f  entered  Wales  and  conquered 
the  whole  of  Pembrokeshire,  which  he  parcelled  out  among  his 
followers.  In  his  wars  he  got  the  name  of  Strongbow  from  his 
troops,  and  the  name  passed  on  to  his  descendants.  By  King 
Stephen  he  was  much  favoured  and  honoured  and  by  him  was 
created  Earl  of  Strigul,  near  Chepstow,  and  subsequently  (1140) 
Earl  of  Pembroke.!  This  Gilbert's  son  was  Dermot's  contem- 
porary. He  was  reckless  and  extravagant,  had  wasted  much  of 
his  ample  patrimony,  and,  reduced  to  the  position  of  the  spend- 
thrift and  the  gambler,  was  ready  to  embark  on  any  expedition 
which  might  rehabilitate  his  fallen  fortunes.  And  the  prospect 
held  out  to  him  by  Dermot  was  glittering,  for  he  offered  him 
his  daughter  in  marriage  and  that  he  would  give  her  the  whole 
kingdom  of  Leinster,  as  her  inheritance,  so  that  Strongbow 
might  hope  to  found  a  kingdom,  as  so  many  other  Normans 
had  done.  But  there  was  a  difficulty.  The  friendship  of  his 
family  for  King  Stephen  did  not  recommend  him  to  King  Henry, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  caused  him  to  be  regarded  with  ill-favour 
and  suspicion,  and  he  dreaded  to  act  on  the  general  licence  given 
to  Dermot.  He  thought  it  safer  to  apply  for  and  obtain  a  special 
licence  to  proceed  to  Ireland,  but  he  bade  Dermot  be  of  good 
cheer  ;  his  vassals  were  many  and  as  warlike  and  adventurous 
as  himself — he  might  have  added  as  greedy  and  as  needy — and 
as  soon  as  he  got  the  necessary  licence  from  the  King,  he  was 
prepared  with  his  followers  to  cross  the  sea  without  delay.  || 
Before  leaving  England,  Dermot  went  to  North  Wales  and 
engaged  the  services  of  a  valiant  knight,  Robert  FitzStephen. 

*  Lingard's  History  of  England  (10  vols.),  Vol  I.,  p.  239. 

f  Composed  of  Normans,  Flemings  and  Englishj  the  Flemings  being 
specially  distinguished  as  infantry.  Thierry's  Norman  Conquest,  Vol.  II. ^ 
pp.   17-18. 

%  CambrenstS;  pp.    186-7; 

11  Hibernica,  p;   13.- 


THE   ANGLO-NORMAN   INVASION.  1 79 

He  had  been  for  some  time  detained  a  prisoner*  by  the  native 
Welsh  prince,  Rhys-ap- Griffith,  but  at  Dermot's  request  he  was 
allowed  to  go  free,  but  only  on  condition  that  he  was  to  leave 
Wales  and  proceed  to  Ireland,  a  promise  which  he  readily  made. 
Satisfied  at  the  arrangements  he  had  made,  Dermot  left  England, 
at  the  close  of  the  year,  landed  safely  in  Ireland,  and  secretly 
took  up  his  residence  at  Ferns  to  await  the  arrival  of  his  allies. 
As  they  delayed,  perhaps  longer  than  he  expected,  and  certainly 
longer  than  he  wished,  Dermot,  growing  impatient,  sent  his 
secretary,  Maurice  Regan,f  to  Wales  to  announce  to  all  that 
whoever  would  come  to  Ireland  and  aid  the  Leinster  King  in 
his  wars  would,  if  they  wished  to  remain  in  Ireland,  get  lands 
to  settle  on,  and  if  they  were  unwilling  to  remain,  would  get 
paid  either  in  money  or  in  cattle.  These  generous  promises  got 
support  from  many  quarters,  and  the  first  contingent  ot  the 
Anglo-Normans  arrived  early  in  the  following  year. 

Little  more  than  two  centuries  separate  the  age  of  Rollo 
from  that  of  Strongbow,  and  in  this  interval  the  Normans  had 
acquired  immense  power  and  influence  throughout  Europe. 
The  whole  of  France  from  Flanders  to  Navarre  was  theirs ;  a 
Norman  King  ruled  in  Sicily,  and  England,  their  greatest  posses- 
sion, had  been  conquered  for  a  hundred  years.  The  change  in 
their  fortunes  was  not  greater  than  the  change  in  their  manners  ; 
and  if  Rollo  still  lived  he  would  scarce  be  able  to  recognise  his 
descendants  in  the  Normans  of  the  Twelfth  Century.  The 
harsh  accents  of  the  North  had  given  place  to  the  softer  speech 
of  France,  the  pirate  Norseman  had  ceased  to  exist  ;  and  the  race 
that  were  unaccustomed  to  fight  except  on  foot  now  disdained 
to  enter  battle  except  on  horseback.  The  destroyers  of  manu- 
scripts loved  to  patronise  learning  and  encourage  literature,  the 
levellers  of  churches  had  become  builders  of  churches  :  in  Norman 
hands  Romanesque    architecture  had  acquired  a  beauty  all  its 

*  He  had  been  in  prison  for  three  years  and  according  to  Giraldus 
(p.  187)  he  was  liberated  on  condition  that  he  would  assist  Ap  Griffith 
against  Henry  H.,  but  he  preferred  going  to  Ireland. 

I  It  was  Regan  who  wrote  that  fragment  of  Irish  History  which  is 
the  first  of  those  "  Pieces  relating  to  Ireland"  inserted  in  Harris's  Hibernicai 
and  which  begins  with  the  expulsion  of  Dermot  MacMurrough  and  ends 
with  the  siege  of  Limerick  (1173),  by  Raymond  le  Gros  and  Meyler 
FitzHenry.  By  Dermot  he  was  much  trusted,  and  in  return  he  has  shown 
a  tenderness  for  the  unfortunate  King's  memory,  and  perhaps  the  severest 
censure  upon  Dermot  is  that  his  faithful  friend  and  secretary  has  nothing 
to  say  in  his  praise.  Less  sparkling  and  animated  than  Giraldus,  he  has 
less  vanity  as  well  ;  he  has  little  or  no  prejudice,  his  style  is  simple,  plain 
and  unadorned,  he  contents  himself  with  stating  facts,  writes  of  what  he 
saw  and  the  people  that  he  knew,  and  his  narrative  throughout  has  the 
stamp  of  candour  and  of  truth.     {Hibernica,  Harris's  Preface.) 


l8o  HISTORY   OF   IRFXAND 

own,  and  in  strength  and  solidity,  even  in  beauty  and  refinement, 
the  products  of  Norman  architecture  might  bear  favourable 
comparison  with  the  most  splendid  buildings  in  Europe.*  The 
rude  barbarian,  to  whom  pillage  and  plunder  was  a  delight  and 
to  whom  the  tears  of  women  were  addressed  in  vain,  had  learned 
to  become  the  champion  of  the  oppressed  and  the  weak,  prided 
himself,  and  with  justice,  on  his  chivalry,  was  honoured  if  selected 
by  some  high-born  woman  to  defend  her  cause,  and  freely  entered 
the  lists  at  jousts  and  tournaments,  and  as  freely  shed  his  blood, 
to  earn  her  favour  and  her  smiles.  The  votaries  of  Woden,  who 
dreamt  of  Valhalla  and  its  halls,  and  who  hated  Christianity 
because  opposed  to  their  pagan  deities,  had  become  the 
firmest  defenders,  the  most  resolute  champions  of  the  Church. 
In  the  first  Crusade  was  a  son  of  William  the  Conqueror  ;  the 
Norman  Knights,  Bohemond  and  Tancred,t  shone  conspicuous 
by  their  heroic  achievements  in  an  army,  where  every  man  was 
brave,  and  besides  these  many  were  the  Norman  leaders,  who 
left  their  castles  and  their  lands  to  liberate  Jerusalem  from  the 
Saracen.  The  Mahommedan  power  was  broken  in  Sicily  by  the 
heroic  and  intrepid  Roger,  son  of  Guiscard,  the  island  was  restored 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  Rome,  and  its  Norman  rulers  were  styled 
hereditary  and  perpetual  legates  of  the  Apostolic  See.J  It  was 
with  the  Pope's  blessing  William  the  Conqueror  invaded  England 
and  Robert  Guiscard  won  Naples  from  the  schismatic  Greeks  ;  |( 
and  against  Henry  III.  of  Germany,  the  foe  and  persecutor  of 
Gregory  VII.,  Guiscard  defended  Rome.**  But  while  the  Normans 
had  thus  changed  in  many  things,  their  valour  and  skill  in  battle 
remained  unchanged  ;  and  never  was  the  battle-axe  of  the 
Northman  more  dreaded  than  the  lance  of  the  Norman.  On 
many  a  field  and  against  heavy  odds,  that  redoubtable  lance 
turned  the  tide  of  battle,  for,  "  in  a  martial  age  the  Normans 
might  claim  the  palm  of  valour  and  glorious  achievement."  Under 
William  of  Hautville,  in  Sicily  (1038),  500  Normans  routed  no 
less  than  60,000  Saracens,tt  and,  two  years  later,  the  same  number 
of  Greeks  were  defeated  in  Apulia  by  700  horse  and  500  foot  ; 
but  it  seems  incredible,  though  it  is  gravely  related,  that  in  the 
war  in  Sicily  (1069-90),  50,000  Saracens  fied  before  136 
Normans. JJ 

*  Classic  and  Early  Christian  Architecture  (Smith  and  Slater),  p.  23 1; 
t  Gibbon,  Vol.  IV.5  p.   220. 
X  Ibid.,  p.    142. 
II  Gibbon,  Vol.  iv.j  pp.    138-9. 
**  Ibid,  p.   151. 
tt  Ibidi  p.    132. 

\X  Ibid.,  p.   142.      Gibbon   sneeringly   adds     "without   reckoning   St; 
George,  who  fought  on  horseback  in  the  foremost  ranks." 


THE   ANGLO-NORMAN   INVASION.  l8l 

A  century  in  England  had  not  much  changed  these  Normans. 
They  were  as  brave  and  daring  as  their  kinsmen  on  the  Continent, 
loved  change  and  adventure,  and  were  ready  to  embark  on  any 
enterprise  which  promised  the  excitement  of  war  and  conquest. 
Their  arms,  their  armour,  their  method  of  fighting  were  the 
same.  Their  troops  were  of  two  kinds — knights  and  archers — 
the  former  always  fighting  on  horseback,  the  archers  usually 
on  foot.  These  knights  are  sometimes  called  men-at-arms  and 
sometimes  gentlemen  of  service.*  The  warriors  of  the  Crusades 
received  the  sword  and  lance,  the  shield  and  banner  of  a  knight 
with  much  solemnity,  in  which  the  religious  ceremonies  were 
not  the  least  important  part.  |  Compared  with  these  and 
restricting  the  term  knight  to  those  who  had  passed  through 
all  these  forms,  the  followers  of  Strongbow  and  FitzStephen 
were  not  entitled  to  the  name.  But  the  term  had  been  extended, 
and,  in  England  especially,  had  received  a  new  significance  and  was 
applied  to  those  vassals,  who,  in  accordance  with  the  system 
established  by  William  the  Conqueror,  held  their  lands  by  military 
tenure.^  They  were  bound  to  aid  their  master  in  his  wars,  to 
equip  and  maintain  for  his  service  a  certain  number  of  horsemen 
full}^  armed,  and  to  serve  him  in  the  field  as  a  knight.  These 
men-at-arms  or  knights  who  came  to  Ireland  were  all  of  good 
birth,  some  in  possession  of  lands,  some  who  had  forfeited  the 
lands  they  once  possessed,  others  the  sons  of  those  who  held  lands 
by  knight's  service,  others  merely  adventurers,  ready  to  embark 
in  any  cause,  however  desperate,  others,  like  Mountmaurice, 
rather  a  spy  than  a  soldier,  "  who  was  a  man  of  fallen  fortunes 
and  had  neither  arms  nor  money. "||  Besides  what  attendants 
he  had  on  foot,  each  knight  went  into  battle  with  at  least  two 
attendants  on  horseback,  not  clothed  in  armour  like  himself, 
from  head  to  foot,  but  only  partially  armour-clad  and  trained 
to  fight  like  their  master  on  horseback. 

In  May,  1169,  Dermot's  hopes  of  obtaining  English  aid  were 
realised,  for  at  that  date,  Robert  FitzStephen  arrived  in  Ireland 
bringing  with  him  a  small  army  of  near  four  hundred  men — 
thirtv  knights,  or  men-at-arms,  twice  that  number  of  horsemen 
in  half  armour,  and  300  archers,  or  footmen.  Transported  in 
three  vessels  they  landed  at  Bannow,  in  Wexford,  the  following 
day  ;  at  the  same  place  Maurice  de  Prendergast  arrived  bringing 
with  him,  in  two  vessels,  ten  knights  and  a  large  number  of 

*  Cambrensis,  pp.-  202-3,  note;     {Conquest  of  Ireland^ 

\  The  Normans  {Story  of  the  Nations)  pp.  157-67.  Before  oeing 
invested  the  candidate  went  to  confession  and  received  Holy  Communion, 
heard  Mass  and  also  a  sermon. 

X  Lingard  s  History  of  England,  Vol.-  I.,  pp;  240-1.'; 

II  Cambrensis,  p.   189. 


1 82  *  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

archers.*  The  whole  force,  which  must  have  numbered  between 
600  and  700  fighting  men,  was  under  the  supreme  command 
of  FitzStephen,  but  associated  with  him  was  de  Prendergast, 
Meyler  FitzHenry,  Henry  or  Hervey  de  Mountmaurice,  and 
Meyler  Fitz-David,  "son  to  the  Bishop  of  St.  David's."t  The 
news  was  quickly  conveyed  to  Dermot  in  his  retreat  at  Ferns, 
and,  mustering  some  500  Irish  troops,  he  joined  his  forces  with 
the  invaders,  and  the  whole  army  thus  composed  marched  to 
the  attack  of  Wexford,  The  town  was  garrisoned  by  2000  men, 
who,  when  they  heard  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  boldly 
marched  forth  to  meet  them,  but  when  they  saw  the  Anglo- 
Normans,  clothed  in  complete  armour  and  mounted  on  heavy 
Flemish  horses,  also  covered  with  armour,  they  wisely  judged 
it  was  useless  to  contend  in  the  open  against  such  foes,  and  that 
battle-axe  and  shield  were  unevenly  matched  against  lance  and 
coat  of  mail.  The  town  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  with  towers 
and  battlements  ;  behind  the  shelter  of  these  fortifications  they 
could  more  effectually  defend  themselves,  and,  burning  the 
suburbs,  they  retired  within  the  town  itself.  The  English 
advanced  to  the  walls,  which  they  gallantly  assaulted,  but  the 
defenders  cast  down  stones  and  beams  on  their  heads,  and  they 
had  to  retire  with  the  loss  of  eighteen  of  their  number  killed, 
while  the  Irish  lost  but  three.  In  a  second  assault  they  were  not 
more  successful  ;  but  the  Wexfordmen  knew  that  these  assaults 
would  be  repeated,  they  seemed  to  have  lost  confidence  in  them- 
selves and  to  quickly  get  weary  of  the  struggle  ;  on  the  advice 
of  two  bishops,  who  happened  to  be  in  the  town,  negotiations 
were  opened  between  the  besieged  and  the  besiegers  ;  the  town 
was  delivered  to  Dermot  and  the  townsmen  swore  fealty  to  him 
and  delivered  tour  of  their  chief  men  as  hostages.  And  so  pleased 
was  he  with  his  English  allies,  that  he  gave  the  town  ot  Wextord 
over  to  FitzStephen,  some  adjoining  lands  to  de  Prendergast, 
and  a  district  between  Wexford  and  Waterford  to  Mountmaurice.  I 
Elated  by  his  success,  strong  in  the  strength  and  superiority  of 
his  allies,  his  ranks  swelled  by  the  Wexford  men,  whose  accession 
brought  the  number  of  his  army  up  to  3C00  men,  Dermot  felt 
secure  of  recovering  all  he  had  lost  and  hoped  even  to  be  revenged 
on  his  foes,  nor  was  his  desire  to  recover  his  lost  kingdom  more 
intense  than  his  thirst  for  revenge. 

Against  Donogh,  King  of  Ossory,  he  was  specially  embittered. 
That  prince  had  deserted  him  in  his  time  of  trial,  he  had 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  enemies  that  encompassed  him — 
O'Rorke,   O'Connor,  and  others — and,  what  was    still    harder 

*  Cambrensis,  pp.   189-90. 

f  Hibernica,  p     16.     (Regan's  narrative.) 

+  Cambrensis,  pp.   191-2. 


THE   ANGLO-NORMAN   INVASION,  1 83 

to  be    borne,    he    had    taken  prisoner   his  only  legitimate  son 
and    heir,    Enna,    and    he     had    cruelly  put    out    his    eyes.* 
Dermot     proposed     to     his     English     allies     that     Ossory     be 
attacked,  nor  had  they  any  hesitation  in  carrying  out  his  wishes. 
They  were  his  soldiers,  they  had  come  to  do  his  work,  they  were 
receiving  his  pay  and  it  did  not  concern  them  who  was  attacked, 
nor  would  they  hesitate  to  fight  with  Dermot's  greatest  enemy 
if  they  received  higher  pay.  f      Accompanied  by  his  illegitimate 
son,  Donal  Kavanagh,  his  3000  Irish  troops  and  all  his  foreign 
auxiliaries,  Dermot  soon  entered  Ossory.      Wisely  avoiding    an 
encounter  in  the  open,  the  Ossorymen  drew  the  invaders  into  the 
woods  and  bogs,  they  dug  deep  trenches  and  planted   them  with 
hedges,  and  when  attacked  they  resisted  the  whole  strength    of 
the  invading  army  from  morning  till  night,  nor    was    it  except 
through  his  English  allies,  that  Dermot  gained  a  partial    and 
doubtful,  though  bloody,  victory.      Nor  did  he  think  it  safe  to 
advance   further   into   Ossory,   on   the   contrary   he   thought   it 
safer  to  return,  and  so  little  were  the  Ossorymen  dismayed,  that 
at  a  certain  pass  through  which  Dermot's  army  was  retiring, 
they  were  attacked  by  the  King  of  Ossory  with  2000  men.     At 
first  the  assailants  were  successful, and  the  Irish  troops  of  Dermot 
fled  for  shelter  to  the  woods,  but  the  English  gradually  fell  back 
from  the  marshy  ground,  where  they  were  attacked,  to  ground 
of  a  harder  nature,  the  Ossorymen  impetuously  pursued,  when 
suddenly  FitzStephen  and  his  followers  turned  on  their  pursuers 
and  with  his  men-at-arms  rode  down  upon  them,  killing  many 
with   their  long  lances.       Dermot's   men   hiding  in   the  woods 
plucked  up  courage,  issued  from  their  hiding  places,  fell  upon 
the  wavering  and  retreating  Ossorymen  and  killed  many  whom 
the  lances  of  the  English  had  spared.     Over  two  hundred  heads 
of  his  foes  were  collected  and  laid  at  Dermot's  feet. J    Recognising 
among  them  the  head  of  one  he  mortally  hated,  he  took  it  up 
by  the  ears  and  hair  and    "  tore  the  nostrils  and  lips  in  a  most 
savage  and  inhuman  manner."  |1      This  incident  is  recorded  by 
Giraldus,  but  suppressed  by  Regan,  whose  love  for^his  old  master 
seems  to  have  been  greater  than  his  love  of  truth.     On  his  return 
to  Ferns,  Dermot  received  the  submission  of  many  of  the  Leinster 
chiefs,  who  saw  his  increase  of  power  and  dreaded  incurring 
his  wrath.      Neither  O'Toole  nor  O'Felan   would  submit,  and 
Dermot,  entering  their  territories,  spoiled  and  wasted  them  and 
returned  to  Ferns,  laden  with  spoil. 

*Four  M asters i  at  the  year  1168.     Donogh  is  sometimes  called  Magilla- 
patrick  and  sometimes  FitzPatrick. 
■j"  Hibernica,  p.   15. 

X  Ibid.^  p.  17.     Regan  gives  the  exact  number — 220. 
II  Cambrensis,  p.   193. 


184  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

All  this  pleased  Dermot ;  but  Ossory  was  still  unsubdued, 
and  he  would  not  rest  satisfied  until  his  old  enemy,  Donogh, 
was  utterly  destroyed  ;  and  once  more  mustering  all  his  strength, 
English  and  Wexford  men  combined,  he  entered  Ossory.  Donogh 
pursued  his  usual  skilful  tactics,  fled  before  the  invaders  and 
at  a  place  called  Hatchdrift,  dug  trenches,  which  he  manned 
with  his  best  troops.  The  Wexfordmen,  "  with  much  courage," 
led  the  attack  on  Dermot's  side,  but  the  Ossorymen  were  equally 
brave,  and  for  three  days  the  battle  continued,  nor  was  it  until 
the  English  were  able  to  intervene  that  the  trenches  were  captured 
and  the  Ossorymen  driven  back.  They  retreated  further  still 
into  Ossory;  Dermot  and  his  allies  were  afraid  to  pursue  them, 
and  again,  preying  and  spoiling  the  country  through  which 
they  passed,  Dermot  returned  to  Ferns.  But  Donogh  of  Ossory 
had  not  yet  submitted  and  Dermot's  own  conduct  did  not  promise 
further  success.  His  arrogance,  it  appears,  kept  pace  with  his 
victories  ;  he  offended  some  of  his  English  allies  ;  and  Prendergast 
especially  was  so  disgusted  with  his  conduct,  that  with  his  200 
soldiers  he  marched  to  Wexford,  and  resolved  to  return  to  Wales. 
The  Wexfordmen,  by  orders  of  Dermot.  stayed  his  progress  at 
the  port,  and,  unable  to  embark,  he  passed  over  with  his  troops 
to  the  service  of  Donogh  of  Ossory,  and  with  him  made  incursions 
into  Dermot's  territories,  and  subsequently  reduced  O'More  of 
Leix  in  subjection  to  Ossory.  These  services  of  Prendergast 
were  but  ill-requited  in  Ossory  ;  he  received  but  little  thanks  ; 
treachery  even  was  meditated  against  him;  and,  displeased  with 
the  service  he  was  engaged  in,  and  disgusted  with  those  whom 
he  served,  he  made  his  way  to  Waterford  and  passed  over  to 
England.* 

During  the  progress  of  these  events,  Roderick  O'Connor 
remained  inactive.  Without  any  of  his  father's  energy  of  character 
or  capacity,  he  failed  to  appreciate  the  significance  of  what  was 
taking  place,  regarded  those  new  invaders  merely  as  mercenaries 
of  Dermot,  employed  by  him  to  fight  his  battles,  as  in  other 
days  and  by  other  chiefs  the  Danes  had  been  employed.  But 
when  all  Leinster  was  overrun;  when  O'Felan  and  O'Toole  were 
plundered  and  Ossory  was  laid  waste,  his  torpid  energy  was 
roused  ;  he  appealed  to  the  princes  and  chiefs;  war  was  resolved 
against  Dermot,  and  Roderick  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a 

*  Hibernica,  pp.  192-3.  Perhaps  one  of  the  reasons  for  Prendergasf's 
being  displeased  with  Dermot  may  be  that  he  had  transferred;  either  in 
whole  or  in  part,  the  land  he  formerly  assigned  to  him  near  Wexford  to 
Maurice  FitzGerald.  In  Giraldus  (p.  192)  it  is  said  that  he  gave  Wexford 
to  FitzStephen  and  Maurice,  which  must  be  Maurice  de  Prendergast,  as 
FitzGerald  had  not  yet  arrived,  while  in  Regan  it  is  said  he  gave  Wexford 
to  FitzStephen,  and  the  Corrig,  near  Wexford,  to  FitzGerald. 


THE  ANGLO-NORMAN   INVASION.  1 85 

large  army.  Yet,  instead  of  fighting  he  commenced  to  negotiate. 
The  elaborate  speeches  made  by  Dermot,  FitzStephen  and 
Roderick,  as  recorded  by  Giraldus,  need  not  be  included  in  a 
sober  narrative  of  facts,  but  amid  the  mass  of  rhetoric  and 
declamation,  we  can  discern  that  Roderick  offered  presents  and 
money  to  FitzStephen  if  he  would  leave  Ireland — a  thing  which 
FitzStephen  refused  to  do — that,  failing  in  this,  he  made  terms 
with  Dermot,  recognising  him  as  King  of  Leinster,  Dermot,  on 
his  side,  acknowledging  Roderick  as  Ardri,  and  giving  him  his 
son  Conor  as  a  hostage.  There  was  further  a  secret  treaty  between 
them  that  Dermot  would  send  away  his  new  allies,  as  soon  as 
possible.*  This  treaty  Dermot  had  no  intention  of  keeping  ; 
his  anxiety  was  to  ward  off  the  danger  that  menaced  him  ;  and 
so  far  from  sending  away  his  allies  was  he,  that  he  warmly 
welcomed  a  fresh  band  of  near  200,  who  had  landed  at  Wexford 
under  Maurice  FitzGerald.f  He  encouraged  his  son-in-law, 
Donal  O'Brien  of  Desmond,  to  throw  off  his  allegiance  to  the 
Ardri,  and  when  Roderick  attacked  his  rebellious  vassal  and 
entered  his  territory  with  an  army,  the  rebel  was  aided  by 
FitzStephen  and  the  Anglo-Normans,  and  he  was  driven  back 
to  Connaught,  defeated  and  disgraced.^ 

Dermot  was  not  yet  satisfied,  and,  rejoicing  that  he  had 
deluded  and  weakened  the  Ardri,  he  began  to  hope  that  he 
might  become  Ardri  himself.  For  this  design  he  wanted  more 
help  from  England,  and  sent  an  urgent  request  to  Strongbow 
to  hasten  his  coming.  "  We  have  watched  (he  says),  the  storks 
and  the  swallows  ;  the  summer  birds  have  come  and  are  gone 
again  with  the  southerly  wind  ;  but  neither  winds  from  the 
east  or  the  west  have  brought  us  your  much  desired  and  long 
expected  presence  ||  .  .  .  ."  The  swallow  had  deferred  his 
flight,  but  it  was  not  his  fault.  Repeatedly,  Strongbow  had 
asked  for  the  necessary  permission  from  Henry  H.  but  so  far 
had  not  obtained  it,  and  as  soon  as  he  did,  he  wrote  to  Dermot 
that  he  was  making  all  necessary  preparations  for  his  departure 
and  would  soon  be  with  him.  In  the  meantime  he  sent  his 
friend,  Raymond  Le  Gros  (May,  11 70)  with  a  small  force — 10 
men-at-arms  and  70  archers.**  He  landed  at  Dundonald,  a  few 

*  Cambrensis,  pp.  195-202; 

t  Ibid.-^  203.  FitzGerald  was  half  brother  to  FitzStephen  and  had 
with  him  10  men  at-armSj  30  mounted  retainers  and  100  archers  and 
foot  soldiers. 

%  Ibid.^  204. 

II  Cambrensis,  p.  205.  The  thoughts  of  this  letter  may  be  (and  this  is 
unlikely)  the  thoughts  of  Dermot,  but  assuredly  the  words  are  the  words 
of  Giraldus. 

**  Ibid.,  206. 


l86  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

miles  from  Waterford,*  where  he  was  soon  besieged  by  an  army 
of  3000 — the  men  of  Waterford  and  Ossory.f  He  had  been  joined 
by  Hervey  de  Mountmaurice  and  one  or  two  other  knights, 
but  his  whole  forces  scarce  numbered  one  hundred.  He  had 
taken  the  precaution  of  fortifying  his  position,  and  he  had  gathered 
within  the  enclosure  a  large  number  of  cattle  from  the  surrounding 
lands.  When  the  enemy  assailed  him,  he  opened  the  gates, 
drove  out  the  cattle,  followed  with  his  troops  and  fell  upon  the 
broken  and  disordered  ranks  of  the  Irish,  killing  a  large  number 
of  them  I  and  taking  seventy  prisoners.  The  unfortunate 
prisoners  had  their  limbs  first  broken  in  pieces  and  then,  while 
they  were  yet  living,  were  hurled  headlong  into  the  sea  from 
the  neighbouring  cliffs.  ||  Raymond  stayed  at  Dundonald  until 
the  arrival  of  Strongbow. 

On  the  27th  August  following,  Strongbow  with  1600  men, 
of  whom  200  were  men-at-arms,  landed  at  Waterford  and,  being 
joined  by  Raymond  and  his  small  army,  with  his  whole  force 
he  attacked  Waterford.  The  assault  was  twice  repulsed,  but 
through  the  skill  of  Raymond  Le  Gros**  a  breach  was  made  in 
the  walls  and  the  invaders  entered  the  town  and  slaughtered 
the  inhabitants  without  mercy.  The  Danish  rulers  of  the  city 
retreated  into  Reginald's  tower,  where  they  long  and  gallantly 
resisted,  but  the  place  was  ultimately  captured  and  both  chiefs  were 
put  to  death.tt  News  of  these  events  quickly  reached  Dermot,  nor 
did  he  delay,  until  he  arrived  at  Waterford,  bringing  with  him 
his  daughter  Eva,  Strongbow's  destined  bride.  The  nuptials 
were  celebrated  amid  unusual  surroundings.  The  streets  ran 
red  with  the  blood  of  its  citizens,  all  around  were  scenes  of  death 
and  slaughter,  and  in  this  city,  stricken  with  sorrow,  a  city  of 
death  and  mourning  and  lamentation,  the  marriage  of  Strongbow 
and  Eva  MacMurrogh  took  place.  Leaving  a  garrison  at  Waterford, 
Dermot  and  his  son-in-law  marched  north  to  Ferns,  where 
their  delay  was  but  short  and,  then,  gathering  all  their  forces, 
they  proceeded  northwards,  through  the  mountains  of  Wicklow, 
to  attack  the  city  of  Dublin.  No  resistance  was  offered  to  their 
advance,  and  the  affrighted  citizens  of  Dublin  soon  beheld  the 
banners  of  the  invaders  waving  outside  the  walls  of  the  city.JJ 

*  Cambrensis;  The  place  was  eight  miles  from  Waterford  and  twelve 
from  Wexford 

t  Hibernica^  p.-  23. 

X  Regan  says  that  1000  were  killed  in  battle; 

II  Giraldus  (p.  211)  puts  the  blame  for  this  inhuman  conduct  on  Mount- 
Maurice,  and  says  that  Raymond  was  for  mercy; 

**  Cambrensis,  p.  212. 

ft  Regan  (p.  24)  calls  them  Reginald  and  Smorth  ;  Giraldus  calls  them 
the  two  Sitrics. 

++  Hibernica,  p.   25; 


THE   ANGLO-NORMAN   INVASION.  1 8/ 

Against  an  army  which  included  nearly  5000  English  troops* 
and  in  which  the  number  of  Irish  must  have  been  much  greater, 
the  citizens  had  little  prospect  of  being  able  to  defend  themselves. 
And  if  the  city  were  taken  by  force,  they  had  reason  to  dread 
the  wrath  of  Dermot.  They  had  hated  his  father  ;  while  sitting 
in  a  court  of  justice  in  the  city  a  party  of  them  had  murdered 
him,  and  to  his  dead  body  they  had  tied  the  body  of  a  dog,  and 
the  dead  dog  and  the  dead  King  were  buried  together.  Such 
an  outrage  Dermot  was  not  likely  to  forget  and  would  be  likely 
to  avenge.  Negotiations  were  opened,  the  citizens'  representa- 
tive being  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin — ^Laurence  O'Toole — 
Dermot's  representative  being  Maurice  Regan,  f  But  while  the 
terms  of  surrender  were  being  settled,  two  parties  of  the  English, 
one  under  Milo  de  Cogan  and  the  other  under  Raymond,  "  eager 
for  fight  and  greedy  of  plunder,"  forced  their  way  into  the  city 
and  put  many  persons  to  death.  Strongbow  and  Dermot  with 
their  forces  soon  followed,  while  the  Danish  ruler  of  the  city 
and  many  with  him  escaped  to  their  ships.^  Once  again  Dublin 
was  in  Dermot's  hands,  but  not  content  with  all  he  had  done 
he  made  an  irruption  into  Meath  and  plundered  and  wasted 
the  territory  of  O'Rorke.  Roderick  O'Connor  reminded  him  that 
his  conduct  in  this  and  other  matters  was  in  direct  violation 
of  his  promises,  and  that  if  he  did  not  desist  he  would  put  to 
death  his  son,  whom  he  held  as  a  hostage.  Dermot's  reply  was 
that  he  meditated  conquering  Connaught,  as  he  had  already 
conquered  Leinster,  and  immediately  Roderick  put  the  young 
prince  to  death.  |i  What  retaliatory  measures  Dermot  would  have 
taken  it  is  impossible  to  say  ;  the  time  was  not  given  him,  for 
in  the  winter  of  that  year  he  died  at  his  castle  at  Ferns.  His 
enemies  declared  that  he  died  of  a  loathsome  disease,  but  others 
say  that  his  end  was  peaceful  and  his  death  that  of  a  repentant 
Christian;    his  secretary  merely  records  that  he  died.** 

Since  his  arrival  at  Waterford  everything  had  prospered 
with  Strongbow.  After  Dermot's  death,  by  the  double  right  of 
inheritance  and  conquest,  all  Leinster  was  his  ;  de  jure  as  well 
as  de  facto,  he  was  its  king  though  he  did  not  assume  the   title  ; 

*  Regan  gives  the  numbers — 700  under  Cogattj  800  under  Raymond 
and   3000  under  Strongbow. 

f  Htbernica,  p.  26.  Regan  says  nothing  about  Laurence  O'Toole^ 
while  Giraldus  makes  no  mention  of  Maurice  Regan  (pp.  213-14.) 

X  Cambrensis,  p.  214.  The  author  says  they  sailed  to  the  "  northern 
islands  "  to  seek  aid  from  their  kindred  there. 

II  Ibid.^  p.  215.  The  Four  Masters  say  he  was  "heir-apparent  of 
Leinster." 

**  Hibernica,  p.  26.  Four  Masters  and  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.  Vid: 
Four  Masters.      1182,  note. 


l88  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

he  divided  its  lands  among  his  followers,  nor  did  there  seem  to 
be  anything  to  oppose  his  becoming  master  of  all  Ireland,  as 
he  was  already  master  of  Leinster.  These  fair  prospects  were 
soon  darkened,  and  the  gathering  clouds  on  the  horizon  indicated 
that  a  storm  was  near.  At  Dermot's  death  hardly  any  of  the 
Leinster  chiefs  would  recognise  Strongbow  as  his  successor,  nor 
acquiesce  in  the  arrangement  by  which  the  succession  was  trans- 
mitted, especially  as  it  was  transmitted  to  a  stranger.*  The 
trouble  from  Henry  II.  of  England  was  even  more  to  be  feared. 
For  Strongbow  and  his  knights  to  acquire  estates  in  Ireland  he 
had  no  objection,  but  the  rapidity  and  extent  of  their  success 
alarmed  him  ;  he  was  intensely  jealous,  wished  to  grasp  all  power 
in  his  own  hands,  and  viewed  with  disfavour  and  even  with  anger 
the  prospect  of  one  of  his  subjects  setting  up  in  Ireland  a  kingdom, 
which  one  day  might  be  a  menace  to  his  throne.  Immediately 
he  proclaimed  that  no  ship  sailing  from  any  part  of  his  dominions 
should  carry  anything  to  Ireland,  and  that  all  his  subjects  in 
that  kingdom  should  return  before  the  next  Easter,  on  pain  of 
forfeiting  their  lands  and  being  banished  for  ever  from  his  king- 
dom.f  Nor  was  this  all.  The  Irish  chiefs  had  for  the  moment 
suspended  their  quarrels ;  from  all  quarters  they  had  come 
together,  seeing  the  danger  with  which  they  were  threatened, 
and  under  the  supreme  command  of  the  Ardri — Roderick — 
30,000  fighting  men  were  marshalled  round  the  walls  of  Dublin. 
To  make  Strongbow's  position  more  hopeless  still,  the  Irish  had 
applied  for  aid  to  Godred,  King  of  Man,  the  appeal  was  hearkened 
to,  and  Godred  with  30  ships  had  already  cast  anchor  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Liffey,  blockaded  the  city  from  the  sea,  and  thus  were  the 
invaders  effectually  besieged,  both  by  sea  and  land.  It  was  said 
that  this  formidable  attack  had  been  organised  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Dublin,  |  and  it  is  not  unlikely.  From  personal  contact  he 
was  able  to  appreciate  the  character  of  the  Anglo-Normans  ; 
he  saw  how  they  had  butchered  his  people  and  robbed  them 
of  their  property  ;  they  were  besides  of  an  alien  race  ;  the  Arch- 
bishop was  intensely  Irish  ;  he  was  son  of  the  chieftain  of  Imaal  ; 
and  he  wished  that  his  own  race  would  be  masters  in  their  own 
land. 

Strongbow's  position  became  desperate.  After  two  months 
his  provisions  began  to  fail  ;  there  was  such  scarcity  that  a 
measure  of  wheat  was  sold  for  a  mark,  and  a  measure  of  barley 
for  a  half  mark  ;  only  fifteen  days'  provisions  remained  and, 
calling  a  council  of  his  chief  men,  it  was  determined  to  send  the 

*  Hibernica,  pp.  26-7. 

f  Cambrensis,  p.  2161 

X  Cambrensis,  p.  221.     On  this  subject  Regan  is  silent. 


THE   ANGLO-NORMAN   INVASION.  1 89 

Archbishop  to  the  Ardri  to  negotiate  terms.  If  the  siege  was 
raised,  Strongbow  offered  to  become  Roderick's  vassal  and  to 
hold  Leinster  from  him  as  from  his  superior  lord  and  king.  But 
the  Ardri  scouted  such  terms,  told  Strongbow  that  he  should 
quit  Leinster,  surrender  the  towns  of  Dublin,  Waterford  and 
Wexford  and,  by  a  certain  day,  which  he  named,  that  all  the 
English  should  leave  Ireland  and  go  back  to  their  own  country  : 
otherwise  he  would  make  an  assault  on  Dublin  and  carry  it  by 
force.*  And  an  enterprising  leader  with  such  an  army  as  he  had 
could  have  made  a  breach  in  the  walls  and  carried  the  city  by 
assault,  or  he  could  have  waited  and  starved  out  the  garrison.  But 
it  has  often  been  the  melancholy  fate  of  Ireland  to  have  a  leader 
without  the  capacity  to  lead,  and  never  had  she  one  so  unfit 
for  his  position  as  Roderick  O'Connor.  He  had  inherited  the 
name  but  not  the  courage  of  his  ancestors.  Vain,  frivolous, 
weak-minded,  unable  to  form  a  decision,  or  to  carry  it  out  when 
formed,  he  spent  his  time  round  Dublin  reviewing  his  troops, 
indulging  in  childish  display  ;  and  such  little  conception  of  a 
commander's  duties  had  he,  that  he  placed  no  sentinels  on  guard 
to  warn  the  army  of  a  possible  attack.  Inside  the  city  there  was 
no  such  carelessness  or  irresolution.  Roderick's  answer  presented 
but  two  courses  to  them,  either  to  abandon  everything  their 
swords  had  won,  or  to  sally  forth  from  the  city  and  attack  their 
assailants.  To  delay  was  to  starve,  for  their  provisions  were 
failing  fast.  It  seemed  madness  for  so  small  an  army  to  attack 
so  large  an  army,  but  often  the  boldest  and  most  hazardous 
course  is  the  safest ;  at  the  worst  they  could  die,  and  they  knew 
how  to  die  like  men.  Leaving  behind  them  their  Irish  allies, 
whom  they  distrusted,  and  also  a  small  garrison  for  the  city, 
they  formed  their  whole  army  into  three  divisions,  two  hundred 
in  each,  one  division  under  de  Cogan,  another  under  Raymond, 
and  the  other  under  Strongbow  and  Maurice  FitzGerald.  The 
whole  army  thus  formed  and  led  fell  upon  the  Irish  camp  at 
Finglas.  f  The  surprise  was  great  and  the  victory  was  complete. 
The  Irish  fled,  almost  without  striking  a  blow,  numbers  were 
slain,  and  Roderick,  who  was  bathing  at  the  time,J  narrowly 
escaped  with  his  life,  nor  would  his  soldiers  have  any  reason  for 
regret  if  he  was  pierced  by  some  English  lance.  The  siege  was 
raised,  the  Irish  army  melted  away,  and  the  English    returned 

*  Hibernica^  p.   28. 

t  Hibernica^  p.  29.  This  is  only  600  out  of  near  5000  at  the  capture 
of  Dublin.  Where  were  the  remainder  ?  Some,  perhaps,  had  returned 
to  England,  some  were  left  to  garrison  the  city,  and  some  perhaps  to 
overawe  the  Irish  allies  and  to  protect  the  city  against  a  fresh  attack  of 
Godred  of  Man,  who  menaced  the  place  from  his  ships. 

%  Cambrensis,  p.   224. 


TpO  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

to  the  city  laden  with  booty,  and  with  provisions  sufficient  to 
victual  the  city  for  a  whole  year. 

While  Dublin  was  besieged,  a  messenger  arrived  from  Wexford 
informing   Strongbow    that    FitzStephen    was    besieged    by    the 
townsmen  there  and  would  have  to  surrender  if  not  aided  from 
Dublin  within   three  days.*       Strongbow  was   then  unable  to 
aid  him — he  was  in  the  last  extremity  himself — but  when  Roderick 
O'Connor  was  defeated  and  his  army  dispersed,  the  Earl  proceeded 
to  Wexford,  leaving  Dublin  with  a  garrison  in  charge  of    Milo 
de  Cogan.      On    his  way  south,  he  was    attacked  at  Odrone  by 
O'Ryan,  chief  of  that  district  ;    but  the  English  were  victorious 
and  arrived  safely  at  Wexford.f     It  was  only,  however,  to  find 
that  FitzStephen  and  his  garrison  had  been  overpowered,  that 
FitzStephen  was  a  prisoner,  and  Strongbow  was  warned  that 
if  he  attacked  the  town  they  would  send  him  out  FitzStephen's 
head.     Leaving  Wexford  unmolested,  he  passed  on  to  Waterford, 
where  he  was  visited  by  O'Brien  of  Thomond,  who  proposed 
to  him  to  unite  their  forces  and  attack  the  King  of  Ossory.    The 
Earl  agreed,  and  he  and  O'Brien  were  soon  at  the  head  of  two 
thousand  men,  prepared  to  overrun  Ossory.      Its  king,  Donogh, 
desired  an  interview,  believing  he  could  satisfy  Strongbow,  and 
Maurice  de  Prendergast:|:  was  despatched    to    afford    Donogh    a 
safe-conduct   coming   to   the   camp   and   returning.       When   he 
arrived,  both   Strongbow  and   O'Brien   began   to   upbraid   him, 
charged  him  with  many  treasons  and  seemed  on  the  point  of 
putting  him  to  death.       Immediately  Maurice  de  Prendergast 
mounted  his  horse,  bade  his  own  company    to  do  the    same, 
reminded   the   Earl   and   O'Brien   that   they   had  promised  safe 
conduct  to  the  King  of  Ossory,  that  they  dishonoured  themselves 
in  breaking  their  promises,  and  swore  by  the  cross  that  he  would 
allow  no  man  to  lay  hands  on  Donogh,  and  he  took  the  pre- 
caution of  never  leaving  him  until  he  was  safely  back  in  Ossory. 
While   they   were   yet   meditating   the   invasion   of   Ossory   and 
making  all  necessary  preparations  for  it,  a  peremptory  mandate 
reached  Strongbow  that  he  was  to  proceed  to  England  without 
delay,  for  the  King  must  get    an  explanation  of  his  conduct. 
He  had  already  sent  Raymond  le  Gros  to  the  King  ||  assuring 
him  that  all  he  possessed  in  Ireland  he  was  willing  to  hold  at 
the  King's  free  disposal.      A  second  messenger  was  sent  in  the 


*  Cambrensis,  p.  222. 

•f"  Hibernica,  p.   30. 

X  Ibid,  31-2.  This  was  the  same  Maurice  who  once  fought  with  Ossory 
and  against  Dermot.  After  leaving  Ireland  he  made  his  way  to  Strongbow 
and  was  with  him  when  he  landed  at  Waterford. 

II  Cambrensis,  pp.  216-17. 


THE   ANGLO-NORMAN   INVASION.  191 

person  of  Mountmaurice,  but  the  King  was  yet  unsatisfied  ; 
the  mandate  to  Strongbow  was  not  to  be  disregarded,  and, 
relinquishing  for  the  time  his  expedition  against  Ossory,  he  at 
once  proceeded  to  England.* 

In  his  absence  (i  171),  Dublin  was  again  attacked.  The  Danes 
had  long  been  rulers  of  the  city  ;  its  advantageous  position  for 
trade  and  commerce  made  it  one  of  their  most  valued  possessions  ; 
nor  was  it  likely  they  would  abandon  it  without  a  struggle. 
When  it  was  captured  by  the  English,  Hasculf  MacTurkill  sailed 
away  to  his  kindred,  seeking  for  aid,  as  in  other  days  Sitric  had 
sought  for  aid  against  Brian  Boru.  From  the  Isle  of  Man  and 
the  Isles  of  Scotland,  and  from  Norway,  especially  from  Norway, 
they  came,  under  a  terrible  warrior,  John  the  Dane  ;  and  when 
Hasculf  again  appeared  in  the  LifYey  he  had  a  fleet  of  sixty  vessels 
and  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men.  De  Cogan's  army  was  small, 
not  more  than  600  men  in  all,  but  they  were  the  best  of  soldiers, 
they  were  skilfully  led,  and  such  was  their  confidence  in  themselves 
that  Milo  de  Cogan  himself,  with  only  300  men,  issued  out  of  one 
of  the  gates  of  the  city,  to  meet  the  enemy's  attack.  He  was 
driven  back  with  the  loss  of  some  of  his  men.  Milo's  brother, 
Richard,  had  been  ordered  with  300  horsemen  to  issue  from  a 
different  gate,  and  just  as  the  Danes  were  impetuously  pursuing 
Milo's  troops,  these  horsemen  rode  furiously  amongst  them, 
trampled  and  cut  them  down,  broke  and  disordered  their  ranks 
and  drove  them  in  headlong  flight  into  the  city.  |  In  the  work 
of  slaughter,  the  English  were  aided  by  some  Irish  troops,  and 
so  great  was  the  loss  of  the  enemy  that  not  more  than  two 
thousand  escaped  to  their  ships.  Among  the  prisoners  taken 
was  Hasculf  MacTurkill  himself.  When  he  was  brought  before 
de  Cogan,  his  attitude  was  not  that  of  submission  or  defeat,  for 
he  told  his  conqueror  that  if  life  were  spared  him  he  would  come 
again  with  a  more  formidable  army.  ^  Milo's  answer  was  to 
strike  off  his  head,  and  thus  perished  the  intrepid  Dane,  the 
last  Danish  ruler  of  Dublin. 


*  Hibernicaj  p.  33. 
t  Ibid.-,  pp:  34-36. 
X  Cambrensis,  p.  2201 


CHAPTER    XIV. 
Henry    II,    in    Ireland. 

William  the  Conqueror's  design  on  Ireland — Henry  II.  and  Pope  Adrian 
IV. —  The  authenticity  of  Adrian's  Bull — Henry's  arrival  at  Waterford, 
his  forces,  his  march  to  Dublin — Submission  of  the  Irish  Chiefs — 
Henry  and  the  clergy — Synod  of  Cashel — Henry  leaves  Ireland — 
Appoints  De  Lacy  first  Viceroy — De  Lacy  and  O'Rorke — Strongbow 
defeated  at  Offaly — Leaves  for  England,  sent  back  as  Viceroy — 
Raymond  Le  Gros  and  the  Army — Battle  at  Thurles — War  in  Meath — 
Raymond   captures  Limerick — Death   of   Strongbow 

Henry  H.  was  the  first  English  King  who  came  to  Ireland, 
but  he  was  not  the  first  English  King  who  intended  to  come, 
for  it  has  been  said  that  William  the  Conqueror  himself  seriously- 
proposed  the  conquest  of  Ireland,  and  that  if  he  had  lived  but 
two  years  longer,  he  would  have  conquered  it  ;  and  it  is  added, 
that  he  would  have  done  so  without  any  armament.*  When 
Henry  came,  in  1 1 7 1 ,  he  was  already  seventeen  years  on  the 
English  throne,  but  he  had  long  meditated  coming  to  Ireland. 
The  very  year  and  month  (December,  1 1 54),  in  which  he  became 
King,  an  Englishman — the  only  one  who  has  ever  become  Pope — 
ascended  the  Papal  throne.  His  name  was  Nicholas  Breakspeare 
his  title  as  Pope  was  Adrian  IV.  The  young  King  sent  an 
embassy  to  congratulate  the  new  Pope,  and  these  royal  messengers 
— the  bishops  of  Evreux,  Lisieux  and  Le  Mans,  and  the  Abbot  of 
St.  Albans  f — were  instructed  to  say,  amongst  many  other 
things,  that  the  state  of  Ireland — religious  and  moral — was  de- 
plorable, that  their  master,  Henry,  was  willing  to  undertake 
its  reformation,  but  as  an  obedient  child  of  the  Church,  he 
required  the  Pope's  permission  and  blessing.  The  efforts  of 
Henry's  messengers  were  seconded  by  John  of  Salisbury,^: 
who  was  an  intimate  personal  friend  of  Adrian,  and  who,  in  his 

*  The  Normans,  p.  343 — Quotation  from  Wace.  It  is  a  pity  that  Master 
Wace  did  not  say  how  this  could  be  done,  and  by  what  secret  the  Conqueror 
could  charm  the  Irish  into  submission. 

I  Adrian  IV.  and  Ireland  (Malone)^  p.   14. 

X  He  was  a  scholar  of  eminencej  and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Chartres. 


HENRY   II.    IN   IRELAND.  I93 

book,  the  Metalogicus,  claims  the  whole  credit  for  what  followed. 
The  Pope  acceded  to  Henry's  wishes  and  issued  the  following 
Bull  or  Privilege,  for  it  was  called  by  both  names  : — 

"  Adrian,  Bishop,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  to  his 
dearest  Son  in  Christ,  the  illustrious  King  of  England  greeting 
and  apostolical  benediction. 

"  Your  Majesty  quite  laudably  and  profitably  considers  how 
to  extend  the  glory  of  your  name  on  earth  and  increase  the 
reward  of  eternal  happiness  in  Heaven,  when,  as  a  Catholic 
Prince,  you  propose  to  extend  the  limits  of  the  Church,  to  an- 
nounce the  truth  of  the  Christian  faith  to  ignorant  and 
barbarous  nations,  and  to  root  out  the  weeds  of  vice  from  the 
field  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the  more  effectually  to  accomplish  this 
you  implore  the  counsel  and  favour  of  the  Apostolic  See.  In 
which  matter  we  are  confident  that  the  higher  your  aim  and 
the  greater  the  discretion  with  which  you  proceed,  the  happier, 
with  God's  help,  will  be  your  success  ;  because  these  things  that 
originate  in  the  ardor  of  faith  and  the  love  of  religion  are  always 
wont  to  arrive  at  a  good  issue  and  end.  Certainly  Ireland 
and  all  the  islands  on  which  Christ,  the  Sun  of  Justice,  has 
shone,  and  which  have  accepted  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
faith,  of  right  belong,  as  your  Highness  doth  acknowledge,  to 
Blessed  Peter  and  the  Holy  Roman  Church.  Wherefore  we 
the  more  willingly  sow  in  them  a  faithful  plantation  and  a  seed 
pleasing  to  God,  inasmuch  as  we  know  by  internal  examination 
that  it  will  be  strictly  required  of  us.  You  have  signified  to 
us,  dearest  son  in  Christ,  that  you  desire  to  enter  the  island 
of  Ireland  to  subject  that  people  to  laws  and  to  root  out  therefrom 
the  weeds  of  vice,  also  that  you  desire  to  pay  from  every  house 
an  annual  pension  of  one  penny  to  Blessed  Peter,  and  to  preserve 
the  rights  of  the  churches  of  that  land  inviolate  and  whole. 
We,  therefore,  regarding  with  due  favor  your  pious  and  laudable 
desire  and  according  a  gracious  assent  to  your  petition,  deem 
it  pleasing  and  acceptable  that  for  the  purpose  of  extending 
the  limits  of  the  Church,  checking  the  torrent  of  wickedness, 
reforming  evil  manners,  sowing  seeds  of  virtue,  and  increasing 
the  Christian  religion,  you  should  enter  that  island  and  execute 
whatever  shall  be  conducive  to  the  honour  of  God  and  the 
salvation  of  that  land.  And  let  the  people  of  that  land  receive 
you  honourably  and  reverence  you  as  lord,  the  rights  of  the 
churches  remaining  indisputably  inviolate  and  whole,  and  the 
annual  pension  of  one  penny  from  every  house  being  reserved 
to  Blessed  Peter,  and  the  Holy  Roman  Church.  If,  therefore, 
you  will  carry  to  completion  what  with  a  mind  so  disposed  you 
have  conceived,  study  to  form  the  people  to  good  morals,  and 
as  well  by  yourself  as  by  those  whom  you  shall  find  qualified 

o 


194  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

for  the  purpose,  by  faith,  word,  and  conduct  so  act,  that  the 
Church  may  be  adorned,  that  the  religion  of  the  Christian 
Faith  may  be  planted  and  may  increase  ;  and  let  all  that  concerns 
the  honour  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls  be  ordered  in  such 
manner,  that  you  may  deserve  to  obtain  from  God  a  plentiful 
everlasting  reward,  and  on  earth  succeed  in  acquiring  a  name 
glorious  for  ages."* 

Before  an  assembly,  made  up  of  the  King  and  of  the  nobles 
and  clergy  held  at  Winchester,  the  Pope's  letter  was  read  and 
approved  of,  and  Henry  would  have  proceeded  to  Ireland  at 
once,  but  his  mother  had  some  misgivings  in  the  matter  ;  she 
counselled  him  not  to  go,  and,  in  accordance  with  her  wishes, 
the  intended  expedition  to  Ireland  was  postponed,  f  The  King's 
mother  died,  but  his  troubled  reign  offered  a  continuous  series 
of  subjects  for  the  exercise  of  his  activity  and  ambition;  and 
amid  these  distracting  cares  Ireland|"and  her  ills  were  forgotten. 
The  invitation  of  MacMurrogh,  nearly  twenty  years  later,  revived 
Henry's  interest  in  Irish  affairs  and  re-awakened  his  ambition, 
and  the  Bull,  which  had  slept  peacefully  for  so  many  years 
among  the  archives  at  Winchester,  was  again  remembered.  But 
Adrian  was  then  dead,  an  Englishman  no  longer  sat  on  the  Papal 
throne,  and  a  Pope  reigned — ^Alexander  III. — who,  perhaps, 
would  look  with  greater  suspicion  on  Henry,  and  listen  with 
less  complacency  to  his  appeals.  Besides,  he|had  become  better 
and  less  favorably  known  at  Rome.  His  long  and  bitter  struggle 
to  coerce  the  Church  in  England  and  make  it  an  obedient  in- 
strument of  his  will  had  ended  tragically  and  Henry's  hands, 
in  the  estimation  of  most  men  were  reddened  with  the  blood 
of  Thomas  a  Beckett.  To  use  Adrian's  Bull  in  such  circumstances 
would  not  be  regular,  and  when  Henry  went  to  Ireland,  he  did 
not  use  it — for  according  to  the  jurisprudence  of  the  times  a 
Papal  Bull  became  null  and  void  in  the  hands  of  the  receiver  when 
the  guilt  of  murder  supervened.  But  Henry  soon  cleared  him- 
self^ to  the  satisfaction  of  the* Papal  Legates  of    complicity  in 


*  Cambrensis,  pp.  260-62.  Ginnell  :  The  Doubtful  Grant  of  Ireland^  pp. 
14  and  15.  The  original  document  in  Latin  may  be  seen  in  Usher's  Sylloge. 
No.  46.  The  translation  given  here  is  from  Ginnell.  It  is  more  literal  and 
more  accurate  than  that  given  by  the  translator  of  Giraldus.  Ginnell's  small 
volume,  and  another  by  the  Very  Revd.  S.  Malone,  Pope  Adrian  IV. 
and  Ireland  are  recent  publications,  and,  from  opposite  standpoints^  are 
entirely  concerned  with  the  AUTHENTICITY  of  Adrian's  Bull.  Both  v^orks 
give  evidence  of  much  research  and  learning  ;  both  are  combative  and 
dogmatic  in  tone  ;  the  authors  seem  to  have  made  up  their  minds  in 
advance,  and  the  conviction  is  borne  upon  the  reader  that  it  is  the  advocate 
rather  than  the  historian  that  speaks.- 

f  Usher's  Sylloge. 


HENRY   II.    IN   IRELAND.  1 95 

Beckett's  murder,*  and  to  show  his  good  wishes  for  the  Church, 
he  abandoned  many  points  for  which  against  the  Church  and 
its  ministers  in  England  he  had  struggled  tenaciously  and  long.f 
He  even  did  public  penance  at  Beckett's  tomb  for  his  seeming 
incitement  to  the  murder  ;J  he  appeared  a  penitent  and  humbled 
king,  and,  as  such,  he  again  approached  the  Papal  throne  and 
obtained  from  Alexander  III.,  (117 2)  a  renewal  of  the  grant 
of  Adrian,  in  a  confirmatory   Papal   Bull. 

For  centuries  no  doubt  seems  to  have  arisen  as  to  the  authen- 
ticity of  Adrian's  Bull,  but,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  two 
Irish  writers — ^Stephen  White||  and  John  Lynch** — attacked 
it  as  spurious,  and  the  subject  has  often  been  debated  since 
with  ability  and  learning,  often  also  with  acrimony  and  partisan 
zeal.  It  has  been  maintained  that  the  grounds  on  which  Adrian 
rested  his  right  to  transfer  the  dominion  of  Ireland— the  donation 
of  Constantine — did  not  exist,  as  the  donation  was  discovered 
to  be  a  forgery  ;  that  the  Irish  Church  stood  in  no  need  of  reform, 
the  work  of  reform  having  been  already  effected  by  Malachy 
and  his  contemporaries,tf  that  the  Synod  of  Cashel  (11 72),  held 
under  the  auspices  of  Henry  did  not  exhibit  any  great  laxity 
of  morals,  or  any  errors  of  faith,  and  that  the  state  of  religion 
in  Ireland,  as  there  disclosed,  could  be  favourably  compared 
with  the  state  of  religion  in  Wales  as  described  by  Giraldus  him- 
self. It  is  asked  in  astonishment  how  could  the  Pope  hand  over 
Ireland  to  a  stranger,  without  hearing  its  representatives  in  its 
defence.  Much  is  made  of  the  fact  that  the  chief  authority  in 
favor  of  the  Bull  is  Giraldus  who,  as  a  historian,  is  utterly  devoid 
of  character,  and  rarely  deserving  of  credence — and  a  strong 
argument  on  the  same  side  is,  that  no  copy  of  the  Bull  in  existence 
bears  either  date  or  signature.  These  reasons  are  weighty, 
and  give  rise  to  serious  misgivings,  but  they  are  not  entirely 
conclusive,  and  the  grounds  are  many  for  holding  that  the  Bull 
was  actually  issued. 

*  Lingard's  History  of  England,  Vol.  II.5  p.  96.  It  was  to  meet  these 
Legates  that  Henry  had  to  leave  Ireland  so  soon  and  hasten  to  Normandy. 

t  Ibid.  He  agreed  to  allow  appeals  in  cases  of  persons  suspected  by 
himself,  and  he  abolished  all  customs  introduced  in  his  reign,  which  were 
derogatory  to  the  liberties  of  the  clergy. 

X  The  date  of  his  doing  penance  was  in  1 174,  two  years  after  Alexander's 
Letter. 

It  He  was  a  Jesuit,  and  highly  esteemed  by  Usher.  (Ware's  Writers 
[Harris],  Vol.  II.,  p.  103.) 

**  Lynch  Wcis  the  author  of  the  well-known  Cambrensis  Eversus. 

tf  Not  certainly  by  Malachy,  for  it  appears  from  the  Four  Masters  that 
at  the  Synod  of  Drogheda,  or  Kells  (1152),  a  decree  had  to  be  passed  that 
men  were  to  put  away  concubines — Mr.  Moore  thinks  this  refers  to  the 
clergy,  though  it  is  not  expressly  stated.      (O'Donovan's  Note.) 


196  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

That  the  donation  of  Constantine  was  discovered  to  be  a 
forgery  is  of  little  importance,  for  it  was  believed  in,  during 
the  twelfth  century  and  after,  acted  upon  by  Popes,  and  ac- 
quiesced in  by  the  people.  The  case  of  Ireland  presents  special 
difficulty,  for  Constantine  never  had  any  dominion  over  it,  and 
what  he  never  had  he  could  not  transfer.  But  it  is  not  necessary 
that  Adrian's  act  should  stand  or  fall  by  this  supposed  donation. 
It  was  well  recognisd  in  the  Middle  Ages  that  the  Pope  could 
transfer  the  dominion  of  Christian  States.  The  rulers  of  these 
States  were  half  elective,  half  hereditary,  and  held  their  power 
as  Christian  rulers  and  for  the  good  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  conviction  was  deep-seated,  in  the  minds  of  Catholics,  that 
supreme  power  could  not  be  given  to  any  except  a  Catholic,  that 
in  the  implied  contract  between  princes  and  people  there  was 
a  condition,  that  the  people  should  faithfully  obey  their  prince, 
so  long  as  he  remained  a  Catholic,  but  that  a  heretical  prince 
had  no  claim  on  their  allegiance.  And  it  was  considered  to  be 
the  privilege,  and  even  the  duty,  of  the  Pope  to  declare  how  long 
a  ruler  was  faithful  to  his  obligations  and  his  oaths,  and  when 
he  had  forfeited  his  right  to  rule.*  Such  extraordinary  power, 
so  foreign  to  modern  ideas  and  practices,  was  not  considered 
strange  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  was  often  exercised.  The 
age  was  one  of  violence  and  lawlessness,  the  Holy  See  alone  was 
a  centre  of  religion  and  refinement,  and  it  was  well  that,  by  the 
consent  ot  all,  such  a  power  existed,  which  could  be  invoked 
by  the  subject  against  the  oppression  of  his  ruler,  and  by  the 
ruler  against  the  encroachments  ot  an  aspiring  neighbour,  or 
the  turbulence  of  a  rebellious  vassal. f  Nor  was  the  right  of 
Adrian  to  grant  Ireland  to  Henry  II.  disputed  by  the  Irish  them- 
selves,! or  even  its  justice  called  in  question  until  the  lapse  of  a 
century  and  a  half.  And  if  we  place  ourselves  in  the  twelfth 
century,  and  try  to  realise  the  condition  of  Ireland  then,  and 
the  position  of  Henry,  we  shall  more  readily  admit  that  the 
Pope  was  not  much  to  blame. 

A  long  and  wearisome  period  of  140  years  had  passed  since, 
in  the  moment  of  victory,  Brian  Boru  and  most  of  his  family 
had  fallen  at  Clontarf.  Some  confusion  might  be  expected 
to  arise  as  to  the  succession,  especially  as    the  Dalcassian  dynasty 

*  Gosselin  :  Power  of  the  Popes  in  the  Middle  Ages,  Vol.  II,  p.  9. 
Sometimes  the  condition  that  a  ruler  should  be  a  Catholic  was  an  express 
provision  of  Constitutional  Law    (Gosselin,  p.  264,  et  seq). 

t  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.   58. 

J  King's  Church  History  of  Ireland,  Vol.  III. — Appendix.  Letter  from 
Donal  O'Neill  to  the  Pope  (13 18).  It  is  complained  that  Adrian,  as  an 
Englishman,  was  prejudiced  in  favour  of  England,  but  it  is  not  complained 
that  he  went  beyond  his  rights; 


HENRY   II.    IN   IRELAND.  1 97 

had  been  but  lately  established,  and  its  claims  to  pre-eminence 
rested  on  force  rather  than  on  descent.  But  it  might  also  be 
expected  that  out  of  chaos  order  would  arise,  and  that  among 
the  different  contending  families  some  one  would  emerge  from 
the  struggle,  triumphant  and  supreme,  when  his  rivals  had  been 
humiliated  and  overthrown.  Yet  age  after  age  went  past,  and 
the  struggle  still  continued  ;  when  anyone  of  the  contending 
parties  reached  supremacy,  it  was  but  fleeting  and  transitory, 
and  after  a  century  and  a  half  the  struggle  was  still  undecided 
and  maintained.  Nor  was  there  the  least  prospect,  at  the  close 
of  the  period,  of  a  central  government  being  established,  nor 
the  least  hope  that  the  end  of  the  struggle  was  at  hand.  Amid 
the  clash  of  arms  religion  does  not  flourish  ;  and  the  Danish  wars 
and  the  long  era  of  civil  discord  which  followed,  had  left  the 
Irish  Church  in  the  condition  described  by  St.  Bernard.  With 
a  settled  government — the  guarantee  of  peace — the  Church  would 
have  quickly  righted  itself,  perhaps  even  renewed  its  ancient 
glory,  for  such  men  as  Gillebert  and  Celsus,  and  Malachy  and 
Laurence  of  Dublin,  and  Christian  of  Lismore  were  earnest  and 
zealous  reformers  and  were  well  supported  by  the  other  bishops. 
But  distracted  by  the  tumult  of  war,  their  efforts  could  not  be 
successful.  Nor  is  there  much  justice  in  the  complaint,  that 
Ireland  was  condemned  by  the  Pope  unheard.  From  Gillebert 
to  Gelasius,  a  series  of  Papal  delegates  was  continued,  whose 
duty  it  would  be  to  present  the  true  state  of  Ireland  at  Rome. 
Malachy  had  gone  twice  to  see  the  reigning  Pope,  and  had  long 
conversations  with  him  about  Ireland  ;  and  at  the  Synod  of 
Kells,  Cardinal  Paparo  was  sent  specially  from  Rome  to  preside, 
and  in  due  course  described  the  condition  of  Ireland  on  his 
return.  What  further  information  did  the  Pope  require,,  or 
from  whom  could  he  receive  it  ?  Not  from  the  mass  of  the 
people,  for  they  were  merely  instruments  in  the  hands  of  tur- 
bulent chiefs,  who  recklessly  spilt  their  clansmen's  blood,  as  they 
recklessly  spilt  their  own.  As  to  the  chiefs  themselves  they 
could  not  be  influenced  for  good.  Some,  perhaps,  could  not 
give  up  war  because,  being  attacked,  they  should  defend  them- 
selves. Others  would  not  be  at  peace.  They  would  neither 
do  good  themselves,  nor  allow  others  to  do  it.*  In  such  cir- 
cumstances the  Pope,  in  the  interest  of  Ireland  itself,  looked 
for  a  master  and  a  remedy  from  without,  seeing  it  was  useless 
to  hope  for  either  from  within. 

To  reform  the  Irish  Church,  or  any  church,  Henry  II.  would 
appear    to    be    a    bad    selection.      A   Cardinal,    after    a    long 

*  In  the  Four  Masters  proof  of  this  statement  is  found  on  every  page. 
Vid.  also  MalonCj  Pope  Adrian  IV.  and  Ireland^  pp.  Pj  los 


198  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

interview  with  him,  declared  that  he  had  never  met  so  audacious 
a  liar  ;*  and  his  own  son,  Richard,  once  said  to  his  advisers — 
that  in  his  family  the  custom  was  for  the  son  to  hate  the  father, 
that  the  whole  family  had  come  from  the  devil  and  to  the  devil 
they  should  return.|  "  He  could,"  says  Giraldus,  "  scarcely  spare 
an  hour  to  hear  mass  and  then  he  was  more  occupied  in  counsels 
and  conversation  about  affairs  of  state  than  in  his  devotions." 
And  he  adds  that  he  seized  on  the  revenues  of  the  Church  and 
gave  the  money  to  his  soldiers. |  But  this  was  Henry  at  a  later 
stage  of  his  career,  and  not  when  he  applied  for  and  obtained 
Adrian's  Bull.  He  was  then  but  twenty -one  years  of  age,  active, 
energetic,  ambitious,  swayed,  it  might  easily  be  thought,  by 
the  generous  impulses  of  youth,  and  if  it  was  his  high  purpose 
to  restore  peace  to  a  distracted  land,  and  prosperity  to  a  church 
that  had  fallen  from  its  high  estate,  was  it  for  Adrian  to  doubt 
his  zeal,  or  to  question  whether  he  was  sincere  ?  Henry  had  come 
of  a  race  with  many  faults,  it  is  true,  but  with  many  virtues 
as  well,  autocratic,  insolent,  overbearing,  yet  generous  and 
helpful  to  the  church  ;  and  the  contrast  presented  by  a  con- 
temporary writer  between  the  state  of  religion  in  England,  in 
Saxon  and  in  Norman  times,  shows  that  the  church  had  pros- 
pered under  Norman  rule.  "  In  process  of  time,"  says  William 
of  Malmesbury,  "  the  desire  after  literature  and  religion  had 
decayed  for  several  years  before  the  arrival  of  the  Normans. 
The  clergy  could  scarcely  stammer  out  the  words  of  the  Sacra- 
ments, and  a  person  who  understood  grammar  was  an  object 
of  wonder  and  astonishment."  ||  Of  the  Normans  he  has  many 
hard  things  to  say,  but  he  adds,  that  nevertheless  they  revived 
the  observances  of  religion,  that  churches  rose  in  every  village, 
and  monasteries  in  towns  and  cities,  that  the  country  flourished 
with  renovated  rites,  and  that  each  wealthy  man  thought  his  day 
lost,  which  he  had  not  signalised  by  some  magnificent  action.** 
Might  not  similar  results  follow  in  Ireland  ?  To  stop  the  raids 
and  forays  of  the  chiefs,  to  preserve  the  monasteries  from 
outrage,  and  the  churches  trom  sacrilege,  to  allow  the  bishops 
to  hold  their  synods,JJ  and  to  aid  in  carrying  out  their  decrees 

*  Gilbert,    The   Viceroys  of  Ireland,  p,  25. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  26. 

+  Cambrensis,  p.   252. 

II   William  of  Malmesbury's  Chronicle,  p.  279. 

**  Ibid.,  p.  280. 

+1  That  they  were  not  allowed  to  do  so  sometimes,  appears  from  the 
Four  Masters  at  the  year  1 158,  for  the  Connaught  bishops  who  were  going 
to  the  Synod  of  Brigmac-Tighe,  were  set  upon  by  O'Mellaghlin  of  Meath,- 
two  of  their  retinue  killed,  and  themselves  chased  across  the  Shannon^ 
so  that  they  had  to  return  home  without  attending  the  Synod. 


HENRY   II.    IN   IRELAND.  1 99 

this  was  all  that  was  required  for  the  church's  prosperity,  and 
all  this  could  be  guaranteed  under  the  rule  of  a  monarch  so 
powerful  as  Henry  II.  Adrian  IV.  was  educated  at  Paris  under 
an  Irish  monk,  Marianus  of  Ratisbon  ;*  he  must  have  also  met 
many  other  Irish  scholars,  men  of  sanctity  and  zeal, he  must  have 
often  heard  them  lament  the  distracted  state  of  their  country, 
and  to  him,  as  an  Englishman,  it  would  be  a  just  cause  of  pride 
that  peace  had  been  brought  to  the  Irish  Church,  under  an 
English-born  Pope,  and  by  the  aid  of  an  English  king.  Nor 
is  there  much  force  in  the  objection,  that  Henry  proved  to  be 
the  enemy  of  the  Church  instead  of  its  friend,  and  that  his  coming 
to  Ireland  was  the  cause  of  evil  instead  of  good.  All  this  the 
Pope  did  not  foresee  ;  he  was  only  human  and  could  not  read 
the  secrets  of  the  future. 

It  is  unfortunate,  though  not  fatal  to  Adrian's  Bull,  that 
no  copy  bears  date  or  signature.  Many  public  and  important 
documents  have  suffered  as  much,  many  have  perished  altogether. 
State  papers  were  not  so  carefully  guarded  in  the  twelfth  century 
as  they  are  now,  and  there  was  no  reason  why  Adrian's  Bull 
should  be  preserved  with  special  care.  As  time  passed,  it  was 
seen  at  Rome  that  the  Anglo-Norman  invasion,  instead  of  proving 
a  blessing  to  Ireland,  only  added  to  its  ills  ;  and  when  the  English 
broke  away  from  the  Church  of  Rome,  they  desired  to  forget 
that  an  English  king  had  ever  gone  a-begging  to  the  Pope.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  believe  that  the  original  document  was  wil- 
fully destroyed,  but  neither  at  Rome  nor  at  London  was  there 
any  desire  that  it  should  be  remembered,  f 

It  was  in  1 171,  on  the  i8th  of  October,  that  Henry  II.  landed 
at  Waterford.  His  army  was  transported  in  400  vessels  and 
numbered  500  knights  and  4,000  soldiers,  horse  and  foot.  + 
When  the  number  of  attendants  on  these  is  taken  into  account, 
the  whole  force  reached  little  less  than  10,000  men.  With  him 
was  Strongbow.  When  he  crossed  over  from  Ireland,  earlier 
in  the  year,  he  found  the  King  at  Newenham  in  Gloucestershire. 

*  Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  p.    155. 

■f  Adrian's  Bull  was  evidently  in  existence  when  Alex.  III.  issued  (1172) 
his  confirmatory  Letter,  unless,  indeed,  we  hold,  as  does  Lynch  (Cambrensis 
Eversus,  Cap.  xxiv.)  that  this  document  also  is  forged,  and  when  Pope 
John  XXII.  wrote  to  Edward  II.  (13 18),  in  answer  to  the  remonstrance 
of  Donal  O'Neill,  he  sent  him  a  copy  of  Adrian's  Bull  (King's  Church 
History  of  Ireland,  Vol.  III.,  appendix). 

Lynch  {Cam.  Eversus,  Caps.  XXIII-XXIV.,  Vol.  II.)  strongly,  even  vehe- 
mently, holds  that  Adrian's  Bull  is  a  forgery — his  Translator  and  Editor 
(Dr.  Kelly)  holds  the  opposite  view.  Vid.  also  Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  158 
et  ^seq,  and  Macariae  Excidium,  pp.  242  et  seq.  These  two  latter  works 
believe  the  Bull  to  be  genuine. 

X  Hibernica,  p.  36. 


2CX)  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

His  reception  was  cold — Henry  was  even  menacing,  but  he 
was  disarmed  by  the  humility  and  submissiveness  of  Strongbow, 
who  laid  at  his  feet — even  made  over  to  him  in  writing  everything 
he  possessed  in  Ireland,  whether  in  right  of  his  wife,  or  by  the 
sword,  allowed  him  to  place  royal  garrisons  in  all  his  castles 
and  did  homage  to  him  for  Leinster.  At  last,  says  Giraldus, 
the  storm  subsided  "  and  though  the  mutterings  of  the  thunder 
were  loud,  the  deadly  bolt  did  not  fall."*  A  wealthy  and  powerful 
lord  at  Waterford  attempted  to  prevent  the  landing  of  the  royal 
army,  and  stretched  across  the  harbour  three  massive  iron  chains, 
but  these  were  broken  through,  the  whole  army  disembarked, 
and  this  lord — Reginald  Mac  Gillemory — was  taken  and  hanged, 
and  the  natives,  with  but  few  exxeptions,  expelled  from  the  town.f 
Against  so  numerous  an  army  the  most  complete  unan- 
imity among  the  Irish  chiefs,  marshalled  and  directed 
by  one  leader  of  the  highest  ability,  would  be  required.  Nor 
was  it  likely  that  even  such  union  and  leadership  would  prevail, 
for  superiority  of  numbers,  on  the  Irish  side,  would  be  more 
than  counterbalanced  by  superiority  of  arms  and  discipline, 
on  the  side  of  the  English.  But  there  was  among  the  Irish 
chiefs  no  such  unanimity,  and  the  incapacity,  and  even  cowardice, 
of  Roderick  O'Connor  was  already  so  well  established,  that  no 
national  army  would  enthusiastically,  or  even  willingly,  serve 
under  his  command.  Each  prince,  therefore,  had  to  depend 
on  the  resources  of  his  own  territory  and  thus  unequally  matched 
against  Henry,  their  only  course  was  to  tender  him  their  sub- 
mission. At  Waterford,  Dermot  MacCarthy,  King  of  Desmond, 
submitted,  and  at  Cashel,  whither  Henry  had  marched  by  way 
of  Lismore,  O'Brien  of  Thomond  tendered  his  submission.  Passing 
on  to  Waterfoid,  without  much  further  delay,  the  English  king 
proceeded  through  Ossory  to  Dublin,  receiving  on  his  way  the 
submission  of  Magillapatrick  of  Ossory,  and  of  O'Felan,  chief 
of  the  Deisi  ;  their  example  was  followed  at  Dublin  by  O'Rorke 
of  Breffni  and  O'Carroll  of  Oriel,  and  by  several  of  the  lesser 
chiefs.  I  Roderick  O'Connor  was  as  helpless  as  those  who  sub- 
mitted, but  though  his  power  was  gone,  his  pride  and  vanity 
remained,  and  though  he  was  ready  to  submit,  he  would  not 
do  so  in  person.  Henry  despatched  two  of  his  knights — Hugh 
de  Lacy  and  William  Fitzadelm — to  treat  with  him  ;  they  met 
him  on  the  banks  of  the  Shannon  and  received  from  him  an 
acknowledgement   of    their    master's  supremacy. ||     The  princes 


*  CambrensiSj  p;  2281     Ware's  Annals. 
t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.  25. 
X  Cambrensis,  pp.  230-3 1;    Ware's  Annals; 
II   TAe  O'Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.  66-7. 


HENRY   II.    IN   IRELAND.  20I 

of  the  North  alone — ^perhaps  finding  some  safety  in  their  distance 
from  Dublin — scorned  to  submit  to  a  foreigner,  and  tenaciously 
and  courageously  clung  to  their  ancient  freedom.  Even  these 
Henry  expected  to  subdue,  and  perhaps  without  the  employ- 
ment of  force.  In  war  he  was  experienced  and  skilful,  but 
he  preferred  to  attain  his  ends  by  peaceful  means*;  and  in  Ireland 
his  crafty  policy  was  to  conquer  rather  by  kindness  than  by 
force.  He  loved  to  pose  as  the  protector  of  the  people  and  the 
avenger  of  their  wrongs,  and  when  the  inhabitants  of  Wexford 
brought  to  him  at  Waterford  their  prisoner  FitzStephen,  and 
complained  of  all  the  evils  he  had  done  them,  Henry  loaded  him 
with  chains,  and,  tying  him  to  another  prisoner,  had  him  cast 
into  Reginald's  Tower,  though  he  took  care  soon  after  to  set 
him  free.f 

In  Dublin — in  that  part  of  it  now  occupied  by  the  south 
side  of  Dame  Street — and  in  a  large  palace  built  of  peeled  osiers, 
Henry  spent  the  winter  of  117 1,  and  the  spring  of  the  following 
year.  To  the  sumptuous  banquets  which  Norman  luxury  loved, 
and  Norman  cooks  were  able  to  prepare — the  flesh  of  cranes,  pea- 
cocks, herons,  swans  and  wild  geese  + — he  invited  the  native  chiefs, 
all  of  whom  he  took  every  pains  to  conciliate  and  even  flatter,  and 
all  of  whom  went  away,  marvelling  at  the  number  and  splendour 
of  his  retinue,  at  the  wealth  and  luxury  displayed,  and  marvelling 
no  less  at  the  condescension  of  a  king,  who  was  then  one  of  the 
mightiest  potentates  of  the  earth.  From  the  chiefs,  whom  he 
had  thus  favorably  impressed,  Henry  turned  his  attention  to 
the  bishops,  whose  good  will  he  was  most  anxious  to  obtain. 
The  Bull  of  Adrian  was  obtained,  so  that  he  might  reform  the 
Irish  Church,  and  unless  he  wished  to  be  stigmatised  as  a  hypo- 
crite, he  should  give  some  evidence  of  reforming  zeal.  By  his 
directions  a  Synod  was  held  at  Cashel  (11 72),  at  which  Henry 
was  represented  by  Ralph,  Archdeacon  of  Llandaff,  Nicholas,  his 
chaplain,  and  another  Ralph,  "  Abbot  of  Buildewas."  The 
president  was  the  Papal  Legate,  Christian,  Bishop  of  Lismore, 
and,  besides  these,  were  Laurence  O'Toole  of  Dublin,  Catholicus, 
Archbishop  of  Tuam,  and  the  other  bishops  of  Munster,  Leinster, 
and  Connaught,  ||  except  Gelasius,  but  the  northern  bishops  held 
aloof.**  Following  the  lead  of  their  chiefs,  the  bishops  accepted 
Henry  as  their  lord,  and  some  decrees  which  they  passed  in 
reference  to  church  discipline  were,  it  seems,  sent  to  Rome, 
and  demonstrated   Henry's  zeal  so  satisfactorily,  that  he  soon 

*  Cambrensis,  p.  251. 

f  Ibid.-,  p.  229.     Ware's  Annals. 

X  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.  27-28. 

II  Cambrensis,  pp.  232-34. 

**  Lanigarij  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  2045. 


202  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

after  obtained  the  letter  of  Alexander  III.,  confirmatory  of 
Adrian's  Bull.  His  progress  so  far  was  a  triumphal  one.  He 
had  impressed  all  most  favorably,  the  chiefs  by  his  condescension 
and  hospitality, the  church  by  his  zeal,  and  he  stood  out  in  marked 
and  favourable  contrast  to  these  rapacious  freebooters  who 
had  come  over  with  Strongbow.  Without  striking  a  blow 
three-fourths  of  the  country  had  submitted  to  him,  and  it  seemed 
likely  that  the  Chiefs  of  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen  would  not  hold 
out  long,  but,  on  the  contrary,  would  follow  the  lead  given  them 
by  the  other  provinces.  All  this  Henry  could  not  wait  to  see,  for 
urgent  messages  came  from  England  that  the  Pope  had  ex- 
communicated him  for  his  share  in  the  murder  of  Thomas 
a  Beckett,  and  that  two  Cardinals — Albert  and  Theotimus — 
were  sent  from  Rome  to  place  his  dominions  under  interdict.* 
This  was  serious  news,  and  Henry  was  compelled  to  abandon 
his  further  designs  in  Ireland,  and  to  hurry  with  all  speed  to 
Normandy,  to  meet  the  legates  and  free  himself  from  the  crime 
laid  to  his  charge.  Leaving  Dublin,  he  first  proceeded  to 
Waterford,  and  thence  went  to  Wexford,  from  which  port  he 
set  sail. 

In  leaving  Ireland,  Henry  placed  Waterford  in  charge  of 
Robert  FitzBernard,  with  whom  he  associated,  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  place,  Humphrey  Bohun  and  Hugh  de  Gandevill. 
In  Wexford,  he  appointed  Philip  de  Braos  with  William  FitzAdelm 
and  Philip  de  Hastings  as  his  assistants,  and  at  Dublin  was  Hugh 
de  Lacy,  assisted  by  Robert  FitzStephen  and  Maurice  FitzGerald.  f 
Hugh  de  Lacy  was  the  King's  special  representative,  charged 
with  the  general  supervision  of  the  King's  interests,  and  he  is 
usually  put  down  as  the  first  Viceroy.^  Dublin  by  royal  charter 
was  given  to  the  people  of  Bristol  ;  ||  it  was  inhabited  by  people 
from  that  city,  and  the  old  inhabitants  were  either  entirely,  or^for 
the  most  part,  expelled,  as  had  been  already  done  at  Waterford,*  * 
and  perhaps  also  at  Wexford.  These  three  cities  were  garrisoned 
by  the  King's  soldiers  ;  within  their  walls  English  law  was 
established,  English  customs  existed,  and  Henry's  authority 
was    amply    recognised.     Strongbow    held     Leinster    from    him 

*  Cambrensis,  pp.  236-7. 

t  Ware's  Annals. 

X  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II.,  p.    102. 

II  Historic  and  Municipal  Documents  (Gilbert),  p.  i.  Henry  II,  also 
granted  another  Charter  to  these  colonists  from  Bristol  granting  them 
freedom  from  certain  imposts  throughout  his  dominions.     {Ibid.^  P-  2.) 

**  At  a  subsequent  date  Henry  II.  granted  Waterford  to  the  Danes. 
admitting  them  to  the  full  right  of  English  subjects,  and  this,  no  doubt, 
because  he  could  not  get  sufficient  English  to  settle  there.  (Leland's 
History  of  Ireland,  Vol.  I.,  p    82— Copy  of  Charter  of  Edvv.  I.; 


HENRY   II.    IN   IRELAND.  203 

as  a  fief,  but  outside  Leinster  and  the  cities  named  tlie  King's 
power  was  but  little,  for  the  submission  of  the  Irish  chiefs  did 
not  go  far.  They  acknowledged  Henry  as  they  would  a  powerful 
Ardri.  They  paid  him  some  small  tribute,  they  would  in  case 
of  a  grave  dispute  have  accepted  his  arbitrament  and  have 
peacefully  acquiesced  in  his  ruling,  at  least,  as  long  as  he  could 
overawe  them  by  superior  force,  but  in  all  other  respects  they 
were  free.  Their  manners  and  customs  and  laws,  their  division 
of  classes  and  offices,  the  title  to  their  lands,  the  constitution 
and  privileges  of  their  septs  and  clans,  these  were  left  unchanged 
and  if  Thomond  and  Desmond  and  Meath  were  fiefs  of  Henry  II., 
in  each  of  them  it  was  the  Brehon  and  not  the  Feudal  law  which 
prevailed.  It  was  on  these  conditions  the  Irish  chiefs  submitted, 
and  under  these  conditions  their  submission  was  received,  yet, 
in  defiance  of  these  contracts,  Henry  before  his  departure,  gave 
Leinster  to  Strongbow,  Meath  to  De  Lacy,  and  Ulster,  over  which 
he  had  acquired  no  authority  whatever,  to  John  de  Courcy. 
To  Leinster  Strongbow  might  be  allowed  a  title  as  the  heir  and 
successor  of  Dermot  MacMurrogh,  to  which  was  superadded 
the  right  of  conquest  and  to  some  extent  of  effective  occupation. 
But  O'Rorke  was  still  supreme  in  Meath  and  Breft'ni,  though 
acknowledging  the  supremacy  of  Henry,  while  in  Ulster  there 
was  no  transference  of  power  whatever,  either  by  conquest, 
or  by  voluntary  submission.  These  conflicting  interests  were 
certain  to  produce  war.  The  Anglo-Norman  chiefs  would  try 
to  establish  themselves  in  those  provinces  so  unjustly  handed 
over  to  them  by  their  royal  master,  the  Irish  chiefs  were  not 
likely  to  surrender  what  was  theirs,  and  there  seemed  no  possible 
mode  in  which,  while  maintaining  peace,  these  conflicting  rights 
could  be  reconciled.  Nor  was  the  prospect  of  such  war  displeasing 
to  Henry  II.  It  would  weaken  the  Irish  princes  and  make 
their  ultimate  conquest  all  the  easier  for  him  and  his  successors  ; 
nor  would  there  be  any  danger  while  several  Anglo-Norman 
chiefs  were  separately  engaged,  each  in  his  own  province,  each 
independent  of  the  others,  that  any  one  would  become  so  powerful 
that  he  could  throw  off  his  allegiance  to  England  and  set  up 
a  powerful  Irish  monarchy. 

The  trouble  began  in  Meath  and  in  a  dispute  between  Hugh 
de  Lacy  and  Tiernan  O'Rorke.  The  point  in  dispute  is  not  clear. 
Thirty  years  before  (11 44),  the  ancient  Kingdom  of  Meath  had 
been  divided  into  three  parts,  by  Turlogh  O'Connor,  and  one 
of  these  parts  was  assigned  to  O'Rorke.  In  the  interval,  he 
had  defended  this  acquisition,  perhaps  even  extended  its  limits. 
To  this  territory,  or  portion  of  it,  De  Lacy  laid  claim  in  accordance 
with  Henry's  concession.  O'Rorke  refused  to  surrender  what 
he  believed  to  be  his,  but  a  friendly  conference  was  arranged 


204  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

between  the  disputants,  and  they  met  at  Tlachta  near  Athboy. 
During  the  progress  of  the  negotiations,  a  quarrel  arose,  blows 
were  exchanged,  one  of  De  Lacy's  attendants — his  interpreter — 
was  slain,  and  as  O'Rorke  was  mounting  his  horse  to  escape  from 
the  danger  that  threatened  him,  an  English  horseman  rode  up 
and  transfixed  him  with  a  spear.  The  Irish  chroniclers  all 
maintain  that  the  treachery  was  all  on  the  English  side  ;  Giraldus, 
on  the  other  side,  has  no  doubt  whatever  that  it  was  on  the 
Irish  side,  and  speaks  with  bitterness  of  the  treachery  and 
treason  of  O'Rorke,  "  the  one-eyed  King  of  Meath."  The  body 
•^f  O'Rorke  was  taken  to  Dublin,  the  head  cut  off  and  placed 
over  the  gate  of  the  fortress,  and  the  body  gibbeted  with  the 
feet  upwards,  at  the  northern  side  of  Dublin.*  The  example 
of  De  Lacy  in  Meath  was  quickly  followed  by  Strongbow  in 
Leinster.  He  had  conquered  only  part  of  the  province,  and  the 
concession  of  the  whole  province  by  the  English  King  did  not 
bring  with  it  the  peaceful  submission  of  the  native  chiefs,  nor 
the  acquiescence  of  the  people,  and  there  were  still  many  of 
these  Leinster  chiefs  who  clung  with  tenacity  and  determination 
to  their  ancient  freedom.  Against  one  of  these,  O'Dempsey 
of  Offaly,  Strongbow  marched  with  a  thousand  men,  and  unable 
to  resist  such  an  army,  O'Dempsey  j  fell  back.  Strongbow, 
after  wasting  and  plundering  Offaly,  or  at  least  O'Dempsey's 
portion,  was  returning  to  his  head-quarters  at  Kildare  when 
at  a  narrow  pass,  his  rear  guard,  under  his  son-in-law,  De  Quincy, 
was  attacked  by  O'Dempsey  and  driven  into  Kildare  in  con- 
fusion, with  the  loss  of  its  leader  and  many  others.  Defeated, 
but  not  materially  weakened,  Strongbow  was  meditating  a 
fresh  expedition,  when  he  was  summoned  by  Henry  II.  to 
England.  His  aid  was  required  in  his  French  wars,  and  so 
well  pleased  was  Henry  with  the  services  of  the  Earl,  that  he 
appointed  him  to  guard  the  strong  fortress  of  Gisers  in  Normandy 
JJI173),  and,  after  a  short  time,  sent  him  back  in  the  same  year 
to  Ireland,  appomting  him  Viceroy  in  room  of  Hugh  de  Lacy  .J 
The  prospect  before  the  new  Viceroy  was  not  encouraging.  The 
native  chiefs,  no  longer  awed  by  the  presence  of  Henry  and 
the  overwhelming  force  at  his  command,  showed  a  readiness 
to  assert  themselves,  and  the  English  chiefs  began  to  quarrel. 
Strongbcw's  treasury  was  soon  exhausted,  the  soldiers  clamoured 
for  their  pay,  and  not  having  it  to  get,  they  were  ready  and  eager 


*  Four  Masters.      Cambrensis,  pp.  242-44. 

f  Of  Offaly ;  the  chief  was  O'Connor  Faly. — O'Dempsey  only  held 
part  of  the  territory  along  the  east  side  of  the  river  Barrow,  and  paid  some 
tribute  to  O'Connor    {Hibernica,  p.  38.J; 

X  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.  37. 


HENRY   II.    IN   IRELAND.  205 

for  plunder.  The  successor  of  De  Quincy  in  the  military  com 
mand  of  Leinster  was  Harvey  de  Mountmaurice,  and  as  he  would 
not  countenance  plunder,  the  soldieis  refused  to  serve  under  his 
command,  and  demanded  that  Raymond  le  Gros  be  appointed 
their  leader.  Necessity  forced  Strongbow  to  accede  to  their 
request,  and  Raymond  was  placed  in  supreme  military  com- 
mand.* His  measures  were  energetic  and  decisive.  He  ravaged 
Offaly  and  plundered  Lismore,  defeated  the  Danes  of  Cork  at 
sea,  and  Dermot  MacCarthy  of  Desmond  on  land,  and  safely 
arrived  at  Waterford  with  all  his  plunder.  Then  he  demanded 
to  be  made  Constable  of  Leinster  and  also  he  demanded,  and  not 
for  the  first  time,  Basilea,  Strongbow's  sister,  in  marriage, 
and  as  both  requests  weie  refused,  he  left  Waterford  in 
disgust  and  retired  to  his  castle  of  Carew,  in  Pembroke- 
shire,! while  Mountmaurice  resumed  military  command  of  the 
province. 

The  change  of  commanders  was  not  fortunate  for  the  in- 
vaders. Raymond  was  a  brave  soldier  and  a  skilful  leader ; 
with  the  soldiers  he  was  popular,  for  he  always  led  them  to 
victory  and  put  no  restraint  on  their  plunderings  of  the  Irish. 
Mountmaurice,  on  the  other  hand,  was  unpopular  with  the 
soldiers  ;  his  ideas  of  justice  were  better  than  those  of  Raymond, 
he  was  less  enterprising  and  daring,  and  less  skilful  as  a  leader. 
His  first  expedition  was  disastrous.  Donal  O'Brien  of  Thomond 
had  renounced  his  allegiance  to  the  English,  and  Mountmaurice 
advised  Strongbow  to  lead  an  army  against  him.  With  a  large 
army  they  were  soon  on  the  march,  but  O'Brien,  warned  of 
their  approach,  came  upon  them  in  the  early  morning,  near 
Thurles,  and  inflicted  on  them  a  crushing  defeat,  driving  them 
back  to  Waterford,  with  the  loss  of  seven  hundred  of  their  troops.J 
Shut  up  in  that  city,  surrounded  by  enemies,  almost  in  a  state 
of  siege,  and  with  disaffection  within  the  walls  itself,  Strongbow's 
position  was  one  of  extreme  danger.  The  daring  and  skilful 
Raymond  was  then  remembered,  and  Strongbow  sent  urgent 
messages  to  him  to  return  with  all  the  forces  he  could  muster, 
and  that  all  he  had  formerly  asked  and  been  refused  would 
now  be  readily  granted.  Raymond  soon  landed  at  Waterford 
with  nearly  500  troops,  liberated  Strongbow  from  the  plight 
in  which  he  was  in,  and  both  proceeding  to  Wexford,  Raymond 
was  married  to  Basilea  with  great  pomp  and  appointed  Constable 


*  Ware's  Annals; 

t  liid.i   1 173.  - 

I;  The  Four  Masters  make  it  1700.       Vtd.  Ware's  Annals.     Giraldus 

(p.  257)  allows  that  O'Brien  was  "  not  wanting  in  ability  for  one  of  his 

nation." 


2o6  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

of  Leinster.*  In  the  meantime,  the  Irish  chiefs,  encouraged 
by  the  victory  of  Thurles,  rose  in  arms  against  the  foreigners. 
A  confederacy  was  formed,  consisting  of  O'Neill  of  Tirowen, 
O'Mellaghlin  of  Meath,  O' Carroll  of  Oriel,  and  MacDunleavy 
of  Uladh,  with  Roderick  O'Connor  in  supreme  command.f  With 
an  army  of  20,000  they  entered  Meath,  levelled  to  the  earth 
the  Norman  castles  which  De  Lacy  had  built  there,  cleared 
the  district  of  the  English  colonists  ;  and  de  Lacy's  governor 
of  Trim  demolished  the  castle  there  and  hastened  with  all  speed 
and  with  all  his  forces  within  the  shelter  of  the  walls  of  Dublin. 
It  was  Roderick  O'Connor's  opportunity,  if  he  could  only  have 
used  it,  but  his  imbecility  saved  the  situation,  and  instead  of 
turning  South  and  finishing  what  Donal  O'Brien  had  commenced, 
he  retraced  his  steps  and  returned  home  to  Connaught.  He 
had  heard,  it  appears,  that  the  dreaded  Raymond  with  Strongbow 
was  marching  with  the  troops  from  Wexford,  and  not  having  the 
courage  to  confront  them  even  with  such  superior  forces,  he 
declined  the  contest  and  went  home.  These  events  occurred 
in  the  year  1 1 74. 

In  the  next  year,  Leinster  and  Meath  being  safe,  Strongbow 
directed  his  attention  to  Limerick,  and  Raymond,  with  all  the 
forces  he  could  muster,  was  directed  to  march  towards  Thomond 
and  measure  swords  with  Donal  O'Brien.  He  was  joined  by 
the  King  of  Ossory,  who  had  an  old  grudge  against  O'Brien, 
and  the  united  forces  of  Ossory  and  Raymond  were  soon  before 
the  walls  of  Limerick.  But  the  difficulty  was  to  cross  the  Shannon, 
for  they  could  discover  no  fordable  place.  At  last  one  of  their 
number  spurred  his  horse  into  the  river  and  both  horse  and 
man  safely  reached  the  other  side,  a  soldier  followed,  but  he  was 
drowned.  Meyler  Fitzhenry  plunged  into  the  river  and  swam 
across,  and  then  Raymond  himself,  with  the  cry  of  "  St.  David  " 
and  accompanied  by  his  whole  force,  got  safely  to  the  other 
side.  When  they  reached  the  town,  O'Brien's  men  fled.  Ray- 
mond took  possession  and  appointing  Milo  de  Cogan  its  governor, 
he  returned  to  Wexford,  l 

Terrified  at  Raymond's  successes,  knowing  well  that  he 
had  lost  the  respect  of  the  Irish  chiefs  and  could  not  hope  for 
their  support  if  he  was  attacked,  Roderick  O'Connor  began 
to  tremble  for  his  hereditary   kingdom  of  Connaught,  and  sent 

*  Ware's  Annals.  In  the  language  of  the  time,  Raymond  was  Con 
stable"  of  Leinster,  and  had  its  Banner  and  Ensign — military  and  civil 
authority — subject  to  Strongbow.     {Hibernica^  p.  38,  note.) 

•j-  Ibid.,    1 1 74. 

*  Ibid,  1 175:  Giraldus  (p.  265)  on  this  occasion  puts  a  speech 
into  the  mouth  of  Raymond  and  gives  a  very  flattering  description  of 
him. 


HENRY   II.    IN   IRELAND.  207 

ambassadors  to  England  to  negotiate  fresh  terms  with  Henry  II. 
These  ambassadors  were  Laurence,  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
Catholicus  O' Duffy,  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  and  Concors,  Abbot 
of  St.  Brendans.  They  were  received  at  Windsor,  where  a 
Council  was  held  and  terms  between  Roderick  and  Henry  were 
embodied  in  a  document,  since  called  the  Treaty  of  Windsor. 
Over  Meath  and  Leinster  and  any  other  districts  held  by  the 
English  barons,  and  over  the  towns  and  cities  garrisoned  by 
Henry's  troops  Roderick  was  to  have  no  further  authority ; 
over  the  Irish  Kings  and  princes  he  was  recognised  as  supreme, 
but  subject  to  Henry,  to  whom  he  was  bound  to  pay  an  annual 
tribute  of  one  hide  for  every  ten  head  of  cattle  slaughtered  in 
his  territory,  the  same  tribute  to  be  paid  by  the  other  Irish  princes, 
but  through  Roderick's  hands  and  not  directly  from  themselves. 
With  these  limitations,  and  subject  to  these  obligations,  Roderick 
was  to  hold  his  hereditary  kingdom  of  Connaught,  in  the  same 
way  as  he  had  held  it  before  the  arrival  of  the  English,  and 
should  any  of  the  Irish  princes  refuse  to  recognise  him  as  their 
superior,  or  refuse  allegiance  to  Henry,  or  [fail  to  pay  their 
stipulated  tribute,  then  Henry  was  to  lend  his  aid  in  reducing 
them  to  submission,  or,  if  Roderick  thought  necessary,  removing 
them  from  their  position.*  That  same  year  (1175),  Henry  sent 
over  William  Fitz-Adelm  and  Nicholas,  prior  of  Wallingford 
with  the  Bull  of  Adrian  IV.,  and  the  confirmatory  Letter  of 
Alexander,  and  at  a  synod  of  the  Irish  clergy,  held  at  Waterford, 
these  documents  were  published  in  Ireland,  for  the  first  time.f 
He  would  have  preferred  to  conquer  the  country  by  the  sword, 
and  did  not  wish  to  be  under  any  obligation  to  the  Church,J  but  his 
progress  was  slow,  his  power  had  declined,  instead  of  increasing, 
and  by  the  publication  of  these  documents  he  wished  to  enlist 
the  support  of  the  clergy,  hoping  much  from  their  aid.  This 
assistance,  could  he  obtain  it,  he  expected  would  be  more 
effective  than  Raymond's  sword,  and  produce  more  permanent 
results     than     Raymond's     victories. 

These  victories  were  to  Henry  a  cause  of  alarm  rather  than 
of  pleasure.  Success  breeds  jealousy  ;  Raymond's  successes  had 
excited  the  envy  of  men  with  less  capacity,  and  they  poured  into 
Henry's  ear  stories  of  Raymond's  ambition  and  pride. ||  Nor 
did  these  stories  fail  to  make  an  impression.  The  King  began 
to  fear  that    Raymond  was  too  powerful  and  might  become  a 

*  The  O' Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.  71-72. 

t  Cambrensisy  p.  260.     Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  222  et  seq. 

X  This  is  given  as  an  explanation,  and  a  not  unlikely  one,  of  why  the 
Bull  was  not  published  sooner. 

II  Cambrensis,  pp.  268-9.  This  conduct  is  especially  attributed  to 
Mountmaurice. 


208  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

danger,  and  he  sent  four  Commissioners  to  Ireland  with  per- 
emptory orders,  that  Raymond  was  to  resign  his  command  and 
proceed  at  once  to  England.  He  was  preparing  to  obey  this 
command  when  events  occurred  which  retarded  his  departure. 
Donal  O'Brien  had  again  become  active,  had  laid  siege  to  Limerick, 
and  the  army  prepared  by  Strongbow  refused  to  fight,  except 
under  the  leadership  of  Raymond.  In  these  circumstances  he 
was  given  the  command  and  marched  south  being  joined  on 
the  way  by  Donogh,  King  ot  Ossory.  Hearing  of  their  approach, 
O'Brien  raised  the  siege  of  Limerick  and  in  a  pass  near  Cashel 
awaited  the  advance  ot  the  enemy.  But  Raymond  was  fore- 
warned and  was  not  unprepared,  and,  after  an  obstinate  contest, 
O'Brien  was  defeated  and  letired  to  his  own  territories,  while 
Raymond  continued  his  advance  and  arrived  safely  at  Limerick.* 
It  appears  he  made  some  terms  of  peace  with  O'Brien.  In  a 
quarrel  between  two  MacCarthy's  of  Desmond,  his  aid  was  in- 
voked and  obtained  ;  the  side  he  espoused  was  victoiious,  and 
Raymond  returned  to  Limerick,  amply  rewarded  by  the  success- 
ful combatant. I  Awaiting  him  was  a  letter  from  his  wife  an- 
nouncing that  her  great  jaw-tooth  had  fallen  out,  and  rightly 
interpreting  this  to  mean  that  Strongbow  was  dead,  he  made 
terms  with  Donal  O'Brien,  entrusted  him  with  the  custody  of 
Limerick,  and  with  all  his  troops  took  his  departure  for  Dublin, 
where  he  found  that  Strongbow  was  dead.  He  had  only  crossed 
the  Shannon,  when,  on  looking  back,  he  saw  that  O'Brien 
had  set  fire  to  Limerick.iJ: 

Strongbow  had  requested  that  he  should  not  be  interred 
until  Raymond  arrived,  and  when  this  happened  the  Earl  was 
interred  in  Christ  Church  (June  1176)  with  great  pomp,  the 
Archbishop  of  Dublin  being  present.  His  death  was  said  by  the 
Irish  writers  to  be  due  to  an  ulcer  on  the  foot  and  was  brought 
about  by  the  Irish  saints,  so  many  of  whose  churches  he  had 
profaned. II  The  picture  of  Giraldus**  does  not  accord  with 
this  and  is  not  without  interest.  He  describes  the  Earl  as  a  man 
with  a  ruddy  complexion,  freckled  skin,  grey  eyes,  feminine 
features,  a  weak  voice,  a  short  neck,  tall  of  stature,  of  great 
generosity  and  courtesy,  ever  ready  to  take  advice  and  rarely 
relying  on  his  own  judgment.  He  was  neither  driven  to 
despair  in  adversity  nor  puffed  up  by  success.  With  the  consent 
of  the  Royal  Commissioners,  Raymond  assumed  the  government 

*  Cambrensis,  p.   270; 
t  Ware's  Annals. 
X  Cambrensis,  p.   272. 

II  Four  Masters.  "  He  sawj  as  he  thought,  St.  Bridget  in  the  act  of 
killing  him." 

**  Cambrensis j  p.  226; 


HENRY   II.    IN   IRELAND.  209 

until  the  King's  will  should  be  known,  and  when  it  was  William 
FitzAdelm  was  appointed  Viceroy  and  Raymond  was  deprived 
of  all  authority,  civil  and  military.  He  retired  to  his  estates 
at  Wexford  and  died  there  (11 82.)  Of  all  the  English  leaders 
he  is  the  hero  of  Giraldus — he  never  fails  to  praise  him,  but  it 
must  be  remembered  they  were  of  the  same  family  and  no  man 
was  more  partial  to  his  own  family  than  Giraldus.*  This  know- 
ledge will  help  us  to  estimate  his  praises  as  it  will  help  us  to  under- 
stand the  invective  which  he  pours  so  often  on  the  head  of 
Mountmaurice. 

*  Nearly  all  those  who  were  leaders  of  the  first  Anglo  Norman  invaders 
were  related,  being  descendants  of  Nesta,  daughter  of  Rhys  Ap  Tudor 
Prince  of  South  Wales.  She  was  at  first  the  mistress  of  Henry  I.^  by  whom 
she  had  a  son,  Henry,  from  whom  are  descended  the  FitzHenrys — Henry^ 
Robert  and  Meyler.  Discarded  by  Henry,  she  married  firstly  Gerald  de 
Windsor  of  Pembroke,  from  whom  are  descended  the  FitzGeralds  and  the 
DeBarris,  among  the  former  being  Maurice  and  Raymond  (Raymond  le 
Gros,  or  the  Fat,  because  he  was  so  stout)  among  the  latter  were  Robert 
and  Philip  de  Barri  and  their  brother  Sylvester — {Giraldus  Canibrensis)i 
also  the  de  Cogans.  Nesta  married  secondly  Stephen,  Castellan  of  Abertivy, 
from  whom  are  the  FitzStephens,  &c.  The  relationship  was  extended  by 
marriages  in  Ireland  (Vid.-  Cambrensis,  p.  183.     Genealogical  Table.) 


^2^®^2S:S^S^^^SS^SSSS^SS:^%S" 


£S^^^'^^©S^S^^(g^biii^!^^^^^^S^^^ 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Progress    of    the    Invaders. 

Hugh  de  Lacy  and  the  English  Colonists  of  Meath — The  colonists  and  the 
natives — FitzAdelm  de  Burgho — Hugh  de  Lacy  appointed  Viceroy — 
Superseded  and  again  appointed — His  relations  with  the  Irish  and 
with  Henry  IL — Visit  of  Prince  John — Revolt  of  the  Irish  Chiefs — 
De  Lacy  murdered — John  de  Courcy  invades  Ulster — Appointed 
Viceroy — His  wars  and  conquests  in  Ulster — His  relations  with  Hugh 
de  Lacy  the    Younger — His  fate. 

In  the  grant  of  Henry  H.  to  Hugh  de  Lacy,  made  before  the 
king  left  Ireland  (i  172),  he  made  over  to  him  the  whole  kingdom 
of  Meath,  to  be  held  by  the  service  of  fifty  knights,  and  in  as 
ample  a  manner  as  it  was  ever  held  by  Morrogh  O'Mellaghlin, 
or  by  any  other  person  before  him  or  after  him.*  The  death  of 
O'Rorke  left  De  Lacy  in  full  possession  of  East  Meath,  but 
O'Mellaghlin  was  still  powerful  in  Westmeath,  and  his  descend- 
ants held  sway  in  that  district  for  centuries  to  come  ;  De  Lacy 
made  no  attempt  to  dethrone  him,  on  the  contrary,  his  was  one 
of  the  five  great  families,  who  by  virtue  of  their  royal  blood 
were  admitted  to  the  full  rights  of  English  subjects,  and  were 
guaranteed — both  themselves  and  their  descendants — the  pro- 
tection of  English  law.  f  In  the  whole  of  East  Meath,  De  Lacy 
had  enormous  possessions — all  the  present  County  of  Meath, 
Delvin  in  Westmeath,  portion  of  Dublin,  as  far  as  Castleknock 
and  even  to  Santry  and  Clontarf,  part  of  Kildare,  part  of  King's 
County — in  these  districts  over  which  the  Molloys  and  the 
O'Caharneys  held  sway.  The  area  of  this  extensive  and  fertile 
district  was  no  less  than  800,000  acres  of  land.  \  Part  of  these 
lands   De  Lacy  reserved   for   himself,  but   the   greater  part  he 

*  Harris's  Ware,  Vol:  11.,  pp.-   192-3. 

t  Leland's  History  of  Ireland^  Vol.  I.,-  pp.  82-83.  These  five  families, 
or  five  bloods,  as  theyhave  been  often  called,  were  O'Neill  of  Ulster,  O'Connor 
of  Connaught,  O'Brien  of  Thomond,  O'Mellaghlin  of  Meath  and  Mac 
Murrogh  of  Leinster. 

+  Gilbert's   Viceroys  of  Ireland,  pp.  35-36. 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   INVADERS.  211 

parcelled  out  among  his  vassals,  who  were  to  hold  these  lands 
from  him,  as  he  held  all  Meath  from  King  Henry — by  military 
tenure.  Regan  has  enumerated  these  grants,*  or  some  of  them, 
but  the  places  have  not  been  in  every  case  identified,  though 
some  of  them  have.  To  his  friend,  Hugh  Tyrell,  he  gave  Castle- 
knock,  to  Meyler  Fitz-Henry  Ardnocker,  in  Westmeath  ;  to 
Jocelin  de  Nangle  lands  round  Navan  and  Ardbrecan,  to  Adam 
de  Feipo,  a  district  near  Santry  and  Clontarf,  to  Gilbert  de 
Nugent  Delvin  in  Westmeath,  to  de  Misset  the  lands  of  Luin 
in  Meath  and  to  Richard  de  Fleming,  or  Richard  of  Flanders, 
he  gave  a  large  amount  of  lands,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Slane. 
Besides  these  he  settled  in  the  district  and  endowed  with  lands. 
Petit  and  Gilbert  de  Nangle,  and  Robert  de  Lacy,  and  Richard 
■de  la  Chappel  and  Hugh  de  Hose  and  Adam  Dullard  ;  and  to 
Richard  Tuite,  as  well  as  to  all  these,  he  gave  fair  possessions,  and 
no  doubt,  to  others  also  whose  names  are  not  recorded.  Each 
of  these  knights  was  to  build  a  Norman  Castle,  which  would 
serve  as  a  stronghold  and  a  rallying  point  for  the  settlers,  and 
which  with  its  military  defenders  would  overawe  the  surrounding 
natives  into  submission  and  quiescence.  De  Lacy  imitated 
his  vassals,  and  over  the  wide  extent  of  the  lands,  which  he  re- 
served for  his  own  personal  use,  he  constructed  several  strong 
castles.  Thus  in  strengthening  his  position  and  ensuring  peace 
in  his  province,  he  spent  his  time,  nor  is  there  any  reason  to 
think  that  the  position  of  the  natives  was  worse  under  their 
new  master  than  it  was  under  the  rule  of  O'Rorke,  or  the 
O'Mellaghlins.  It  was  the  policy  of  De  Lacy  to  impress  upon 
the  Irish  that  he  was  their  master  but  not  their  tyrant ;  he 
had  no  sympathy  with  needlessly  harassing  them,  or  robbing 
them  of  what  was  theirs  ;  and  it  would  be  well,  both  for  English 
and   native,   if  his  example  had  been   generally   followed. 

In  the  war  of  1174,  the  Meath  colonists  suffered  much,  but 
their  sufferings  did  not  last.  The  tide  of  invasion  receded  even 
more  quickly  than  it  advanced,  Roderick  O'Connor,  who  had 
marched  almost  to  the  walls  of  Dublin,  on  his  return  home 
confined  his  attention  only  to  his  native  province  ;  and  the  Treaty 
■of  Windsor,  in  the  following  year,  debarred  him  from  attacking 
the  province  of  Meath,  or  even  interfering  in  its  affairs.  The 
colonists  returned  to  their  lands,  their  ruined  castles  were  re- 
paired and  new  ones  were  built,  a  sense  of  security  and  strength 
succeeded  a  feeling  of  uncertainty  and  alarm,  and  all  would  have 
been  well  if  De  Lacy's  vassals  could  only  restrain  their  pro- 
pensity for  plunder.  In  this  respect  a  certain  knight  named 
Fleming,  or  Richard  de  Flanders,  was  the   greatest  sinner.      As 

*  Hibernica,  pp.  42-3. 


212  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

his  name  indicates,  he  was  one  of  those  Flemish  soldiers,  of 
whom  there  were  so  many  throughout  Europe,  ready  to  fight  in 
any  cause  and  under  any  flag  for  pay,  whose  instincts  it  was  to 
plunder,  who  respected  the  strong  and  had  little  mercy  for  the 
weak.  In  his  strong  castle  at  Slane  he  kept  a  body  of  military 
adventurers,  greedy  for  war  and  plunder.  From  time  to  time 
they  issued  from  the  castle  gates,  raided  the  lands  of  the  sur- 
rounding natives,  destroyed  their  property,  drove  away  their 
cattle,  burned  their  houses,  ravished  their  women  and  murdered 
the  people.  Such  outrages  could  not  long  be  borne,  except  by 
slaves,  and  the  natives  had  not  yet  learned  to  be  slaves.  In 
their  distress  they  appealed  to  the  princes  of  Tirowen  and  Oriel, 
and  their  appeal  did  not  pass  unheard,  nor  their  injuries  un- 
avenged. These  two  chieftains  entered  Meath,  attacked  the 
English  strongholds,  destroyed  the  castles  of  Kells,  Galtrim 
and  Derrypatrick,  wreaked  their  vengeance  on  Fleming  and 
Slane  castle,  killed  every  individual  within  it,  to  the  number 
of  500,  and  Fleming  himself  was  among  the  slain.*  The  same 
year  that  these  events  occurred  (1176),  Fitz  Adelm  de  Burgho 
succeeded  Strongbow  as  Viceroy.  Descended  from  a  half- 
brother  of  William  the  Conqueror,!  he  was  therefore  related 
to  the  reigning  sovereign,  had  held  important  offices  under 
him  and  seems  to  have  enjoyed  his  entire  confidence.^  But 
he  soon  became  unpopular  with  his  own  countrymen  ;  he  tried  to 
curb  their  rapacity  ;  he  was  specially  opposed  to  Raymond  le 
Gros  and  his  relatives  ;  and  he  incurred  in  consequence,  the 
hatred  of  Giraldus,  who  describes  him  as  a  braggart  against 
the  defenceless,  a  flatterer  of  the  rebellious: — "  he  was  a  man 
full  of  guile,  bland  and  deceitful,  much  given  to  wine  and  women 
— covetous  of  money  and  ambitious  of  court  favor."  |]  The  court 
favor  he  was  able  to  retain  for  a  time,  but  he  had  many  and 
powerful  enemies  ;  the  unsuccessful  invasion  of  Connaught, 
which  he  countenanced,  they  made  good  use  of  with  the  King,, 
Fitz  Adelm  lost  the  royal  favor,  was  superseded  in  his  ofBce,  and 
Hugh  de  Lacy  (1178),  was  appointed  Viceroy. 

In  the  same  year  that  he  became  Viceroy,  he  married  a 
daughter  of  Roderick  O'Connor,  and  the  cry  was  soon  raised  by 
some  of  the  English  colonists,  that  he  wished  to  become  king. 
Henry's  suspicions  and  jealousies  were  aroused  ;  it  appears  De 
Lacy   had    married   without   obtaining   the     King's   permission, 

*  Four  Masters  (1176). 

•j-  Cox:  Hibernia  Anglicana,  pp.   31-2. 

X  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.  42. 

II  Cambrensis,  p.  277.  He  gets  credit  for  having  attacked  Armagh 
and  taken  away  the  Bacal  Jesu  to  Christchurch,  Dublin,  but  Lanigan 
thinks  this  was  done  by  Philip  de  Braos  in  1184:     (Vol.  IV,  p.  241.) 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   INVADERS.  21 3 

and,  perhaps  under  this  pretext,  he  was  dismissed  from  office, 
but  before  the  year  was  out,  he  was  again  restored.*  Later 
still,  he  was  again  displaced  and  his  post  filled  by  two  Anglo- 
Normans,  John  de  Lacy  and  Richard  de  Peche,  who 
were  appointed  as  joint  rulers.-f  They  did  little  except  to  build 
a  few  castles,  and  in  a  short  time  they  also  were  displaced  (i  1811), 
and  once  more  Hugh  de  Lacy  became  Viceroy,  having  appointed 
with  him  as  adviser  Robert  of  Salisbury  whose  duty,  as  Giraldus 
thinks,  was  to  act  as  a  spy  on  the  Viceroy's  proceedings  and  report 
everything  to  the  King.J  During  the  next  few  years,  De  Lacy 
built  many  strong  castles  throughout  Leinster  and  Meath. 
Hitherto  the  greater  number  of  these  castles  were  in  Meath, 
but  Leinster  as  well  as  Meath  was  a  fief  of  Henry  H.  ;  within 
its  limits  his  sovereignty  should  be  established  and  protected  ; 
and  the  Viceroy  covered  the  province  with  a  chain  of  these 
fortified  castles  ;  which  might  serve  as  a  menace  to  the  turbulent 
natives,  and  as  a  protection  for  the  colonists  and  for  the  natives, 
who  were  peaceably  disposed.  One  of  these  castles  was  at  New 
Leighlin  in  Carlow,  one  at  Idrone,  one  at  Timahoe,  one  at  Castle- 
dermot,  one  at  Tullow,  one  at  Kilkea  and  one  at  Nenagh,  and 
many  others  besides.  ||  But  while  he  thus  built  so  many  for- 
tresses, and  doubtless  intended  to  impress  the  natives  with  so 
many  visible  evidences  of  his  strength,  it  was  not  his  desire 
to  rule  altogether  by  force.  He  wished  to  restrain  the  predatory 
instincts  of  his  own  countrymen — a  task  of  enormous  difficulty — 
he  wished  to  stand  well  in  the  opinion  of  the  Irish,  and  his  marriage 
with  Roderick  O'Connor's  daughter  had  strengthened  his  hold 
on  their  affections.  Once  again  flatterers  and  intriguers  were 
at  work  ;  it  was  represented  to  Henry  that  De  Lacy  was  too 
powerful  for  a  subject  ;  and  moved  by  that  petulant  jealousy, 
which  he  had  so  often  displayed,  De  Lacy's  services  were  dis- 
pensed with  (1184),  and  Philip  of  Worcester  appointed  in  his 
place.  The  change  could  not  be  viewed  with  favor  by  the  Irish, 
for  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Viceroy  was  to  march  northwards 
and  plunder  the  churches    of  Armagh.** 

Some  years  previous  to  this  date  (i  177),  Henry  II.  had  named 
his  son  John,  Lord  of  Ireland.  This  young  man,  at  the  date 
of  De  Lacy's  dismissal,  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  his  father 
thought  that  if  he  came  to  Ireland  peace  would  be  restored  to 
the  land,  the  natives  would  recognise  him  as  their    ruler,  and 


*  Gilbert's   Viceroys,  p.  46 

t  Harris's  Ware^  Vol.  II.,  p:   I02! 

X  CambrensiSj  p.  291. 

It  Ware's  Annals.      Cambrensis,  pj  291. 

*■*  Cambrensis,  p.   107. 


214  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

the  chiefs,  though  hesitating  to  obey  a  mere  subject  would 
have  no  hesitation  to  submit  to  the  King  of  England's  son. 
Leaving  Pembrokeshire  in  Easter  week  (1185),  Prince  John 
arrived  at  Waterford  the  following  day,  with  a  large  fleet,  having 
three  hundred  knights,  the  usual  proportion  of  horse  and  foot, 
and  a  large  retinue,  the  most  remarkable  of  whom  was  Gerald 
de  Barri,  better  known  as  Giraldus  Cambrensis  and  who,  on  this 
occasion,  acted  as  John's  secretary.*  Neither  as  prince 
nor  king,  was  John  ever  a  wise  man,  or  a  good  man  ;  and  his 
favorites  on  this  Irish  expedition  were  not  unworthy  of  him. 
They  are  described  by  Giraldus  as  braggarts  and  dandies,  who 
swore  much  and  drank  much  and  boasted  much.  Their  desire 
was  to  be  successful  courtiers  ;  they  studied  the  tastes  and  foibles 
of  Prince  John  and  seconded  him  in  all  his  follies  and  debaucheries. 
With  little  ability  for  war,  they  had  the  presumption  which  so 
often  springs  from  incompetence,  criticised  with  severity  the 
methods  of  De  Lacy  and  his  contemporaries  in  dealing  with  the 
Irish  ;  and  boasted  that  THEY  would  soon  have  the  natives  finally 
subdued. f  On  John's  arrival,  the  Irish  Chiefs  in  the  neighbour- 
hood went  to  meet  him,  to  bid  him  welcome  to  Ireland  and  to 
proffer  their  respects  and  submission  to  him  as  their  lord.  They 
were  entertained  at  court,  and  instead  of  being  honored,  were 
soon  highly  offended.  The  thoughtless  crowd  who  accompanied 
John  laughed  at  their  rude  manners,  so  different  from  their  own 
mincing,  courtier  ways,  jested  at  their  dress  and  arms,  and  even 
pulled  their  long  beards  in  derision.  The  Irish  chiefs  departed 
bursting  with  indignation,  informed  the  other  chiefs  of  what 
treatment  they  had  received,  told  them  that  John  was  but  a 
boy,  with  even  more  than  a  boy's  levity  and  folly,  and  surrounded 
by  others,  as  thoughtless  and  as  foolish  as  himself.  The  natives 
in  Leinster  and  Munster,  who  had  hitherto  been  faithful  to  the 
English,  were  robbed  and  pillaged  by  these  new-comers,  driven 
from  their  lands  and  wandering,  outcasts  and  homeless,  among 
their  countrymen,  excited  their  sympathy  and  indignation. 
The  flames  of  discontent  were  thus  spread  far  and  wide  ; 
the  Irish  chiefs  of  Cork  and  Thomond,  who  proposed  on  John's 
arrival  to  tender  him  their  submission,  suddenly  changed  their 
minds  ;  and  instead  of  proceeding  to  his  court,  formed  a  league 
against  him.  While  he  and  his  courtiers  were  wasting  their 
time  in  idleness  and  debauchery,  the  Irish  secretly  made  their 
preparations  ;  the  English  were  unsuspecting  and  unprepared, 
and  while  they  were  yet  ignorant  that  the  clouds  were  gathering, 
the  stcrm  had  already  burst.  I     The  strong  castles  of  Ardfinan 

*  Cambrensis,  p.   310. 

t  Ibid.,  p.   320. 

I'  Ibid.,  p.  316.  ■ 


PROGRESS   OF  THE   INVADERS.  21 5 

and  Tipperary  and  Lismore    were  attacked,  the  older  colonists, 
such  as  De  Lacy,  insulted  and  outraged  as  they  had  been,  held 
aloof,  and    John   and    his   army   were   overwhelmed.     Ardfinan 
was  taken  by  Donal  O'Brien  and  its  garrison  put  to  the  sword, 
Robert  de  Barri  was  slain  at  Lismore  ;  Fitz  Hugh    at  Olechan  ; 
the  lands  and  crops  of  the  colonists  were  wasted  and   destroyed  ; 
cooped  up  in  the  towns,  decimated  by  war,  famine  and  disease, 
John's  army  was  reduced  to  a  pitiable    condition,  and  English 
power  in  Ireland  was  nearly  destroyed.*    To  avert  still  further 
calamities,  John  was  recalled.     He  threw  the  whole  blame  for 
these  disasters  on  De  Lacy,  complained  that  he  would  give  no 
help,    that   he   even   prevented    the    Irish   princes  from   paying 
tribute,  and  no  doubt  insinuated  also  that  he  even  incited  them 
to  revolt,  t      With  a  father's  partiality  for  a  favourite  son,  Henry 
believed  him  ;  De  Lacy  was  deprived  of  all  power  in  the  govern- 
ment of  Ireland,  though  he  was  still  left  in  possession  of  his  vast 
estates  and  was  all  powerful  in  Meath.     His  career  was  soon 
tragically    closed.     He    had    seized    that    part    of    O'Caharney's 
territory  on   which   stood   the    ancient   monastery   of   Durrow, 
so  closely  linked  with  the  life  of  St.  Columba  J — and  he  had, 
in  addition,  used  the  stones  of  the  venerable  ruin  for  the  building 
of  a  new  feudal  castle.      As  he  stood  one  day  surveying  the  newly 
erected  building,  (in  the  year  1 186),  an  Irishman,  named  O'Meyey, 
stepped  behind  him,  suddenly  drew  forth  a  battle-axe,  which  he 
had  concealed  beneath  his  cloak,  and  struck  off  De  Lacy's  head. 
O'Meyey,  though    hotly  pursued,  escaped.     It   appears    he    had 
been  fostered  by  O'Caharney,  in  whose  province  Durrow  stood, 
the  affection  between  the    fosterer  and  the  fostered  was  strong 
and  O'Meyey  wished  to  be  revenged  on  the  despoiler  of  his  chief, 
at  whose  instigation,  perhaps,  he  undertook  the  work  of  revenge. 
Some  of  the  Annalists,  such  as  the   Four  Masters,  will  maintain 
that  De  Lacy's  fate  was  due  to  the  anger  of  St.  Columba,  whose 
monastery  he  had  destroyed. ||     Whatever  the  Irish  may  have 
thought  of  De  Lacy,  and  it  may  be  that  some  of  them  regretted 
his  fate,  it  is  certain  that  his  master   and  king,  Henry  II.,  did 
not,  and  when  the  news  reached  him  it  is  on  record    that    he 
was  much    pleased.** 

*  Cambrensis,   pp.   313-14.      Ware's  Annals. 

t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.   50. 

X  It  appears  an  ancestor  of  O'Caharney,  or  FoXj  had  given  the  land 
on  which  the  monastery  stood  to  St.  Columba.     {Viceroys,  p.  51.) 

H  Ware's  Annals — De  Lacy  left  two  sons,5Walter,  Lord  of  Meath,  and 
Hughj  afterwards  Earl  of  Ulster. 

**  Gilbert's  Viceroys,   p.   494;   "rex  plurimum   gavisus  est,"  are   the 
words  of    the   Abbot   of    Peterborough,    and   of    William   of   Newbury, 
"  ingenti  perfudit  lactitia  "  (rex).      Quoted  by  Gilbert. 


2l6  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

The  English  power  at  the  departure  of  Prince  John  was  in 
such  a  perilous  position,  that  if  it  was  to  be  re-established,  or 
even  saved  from  total  extinction,  the  government  and  defence 
of  the  English  settlement  should  be  placed  in  capable  and 
vigorous  hands.  Just  such  a  man  Henry  found  in  De  Courcy, 
whom  he  appointed  Viceroy.  This  John  de  Courcy  was  ot 
good  family.  His  ancestor,  Richard  de  Courcy,  had  come 
from  Normandy  with  William  the  Conqueror,  and  had  received 
grants  of  land  in  England  ;  and  John  himself  had  distinguished 
himself  in  King  Henry's  wars  both  in  France  and  in  England. 
In  the  pages  of  Giraldus  his  picture  is  complete.  He  was  of 
fair  complexion,  tall,  muscular,  a  giant  in  strength  as  well  as 
in  stature,  fond  of  war,  brave,  daring,  adventurous,  with  the 
qualities  of  a  soldier  rather  than  of  a  commander,  miserably 
parsimonious,  in  peace  sober  and  modest,  and  pious  in  a  fashion 
peculiar  to  himself,  for  though  he  had  no  scruple  about  robbing 
an  Irish  church,  he  was  on  the  other  hand  devotedly  attached 
to  the  churches  and  the  saints  of  his  own  Norman  race.*  When 
FitzAdelm  de  Burgho  became  Viceroy  (1176),  there  were  many 
English  adventurers  in  Dublin,  who  looked  with  indignation 
on  his  pacific  policy,  and  not  one  was  more  indignant  than  De 
Courcy,  who  had  been  appointed  to  assist  him  in  the  government. 
His  passion  was  for  war  and  adventure,  and  he  chafed  under 
the  restraints  imposed  by  the  Viceroy.  It  is  claimed  for  him 
that  he  got  a  grant  of  Ulster  from  Henry  II.,  but  details,  such 
as  dates,  are  wanting,  and  Ware,■^  who  gives  extracts  fiom  the 
grants  of  Meath  and  Leinster,  made  to  De  Lacy  and  Strongbow, 
has  none  to  give  in  the  case  of  Ulster,  nor  does  it  appear  how 
such  a  grant  could  be  made  ;  and  all  that  Henry  could  do  was 
to  give  him  a  licence  to  conquer  the  Northern  province.  And 
this  De  Courcy  determined  to  do,  and  for  that  purpose  gathered 
together  an  army  of  at  least  700  %  men,  among  them  being  his 
brother-in-law.  Sir  Armoric  St.  Laurence,  who  had  fought 
with  him  in  all  his  wars  and  had  a  reputation  for  valour  little 
less  than  his  own.  At  the  head  of  these  followers,  all  like  him- 
self eager  for  possessions  and  plunder,  De  Courcy  left  Dublin 
(1177),  and  hurried  northwards  to  the  conquest  of  Ulster.  His 
meditated  incursion  and  his  rapid  march  through  Drogheda 
and  Dundalk  were  alike  unknown  to  the  men  ot  Ulster  ;  and 
great  was  the  astonishment  of  the  inhabitants  of  Downpatrick, 
when  De  Courcy  and  his  men  marched  into  the  town,  and  the 

*  Cambrensisi  pp.   277-82. 

t  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II. 5  p.  197. 

X  Giraldus  only  allows  him  a  little  more  than  300  followerSj  but  the 
Book  of  Howtk  {Carew  MSS.,  p.  84)  allows  that  he  fought  his  first  battle 
in  Ulster  with  700  and  the  author  is  De  Courcy's  enthusiastic  eulogist. 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   INVADERS.  2iy 

silence  of  its  streets  was  broken  by  the  tread  of  armed  men  and 
the  clamorous  notes  of  the  military  bugle.  Their  resistance 
could  only  be  feeble  and  futile,  and  their  property,  and  in  many 
cases  their  lives,  were  sacrificed  without  a  blow.  Cardinal 
Vivian,  who  had  come  from  Rome  as  Papal  Legate,  happened 
to  be  in  Downpatrick  on  his  way  to  Dublin,  and  endeavoured 
to  curb  the  rapacity  of  the  invaders.  He  offered,  on  the  part 
of  the  Ulster  chiefs,  that  they  would  acknowledge  Henry  H. 
as  their  sovereign,  and  pay  him  tribute,  if  De  Courcy  and  his  men 
would  withdraw  and  return  to  Dublin.  But  his  efforts  were 
fruitless,  and,  finding  that  expostulation  and  entreaty  were 
vain,  he  urged  the  Irish  to  organise  in  their  own  defence.* 
Hastily  gathering  his  forces  together,  MacDunleavy,  prince 
of  Uladh,  encountered  De  Courcy  near  Downpatrick.  His 
forces  were  vastly  superior — 10,000  in  number — they  were 
not  inferior  in  valour,  but  the  superior  arms  and  discipline  of 
the  English  compensated  for  inferiority  of  numbers,  and  after 
a  hard  fought  contest,  the  Irish  were  defeated,  and  the  English 
remained  masters  of  Down.  This  victory  De  Courcy  followed 
up  by  a  greater  one,  on  the  24th  of  June  following,  in  which 
1,500  of  the  Irish  were  slain  ;  the  same  year  he  ravaged  Tirowen 
and  in  a  battle  at  Dalaraidh,  defeated  the  King  of  that  province,  t 
His  progress  was  steady  and  uninterrupted,  and  before  the  year 
had  expiied,  he  was  firmly  established  at  Downpatrick,  which 
he  made  his  headquarter*^,  and  where  he  had  built  a  strong 
Norman  castle. 

The  better  to  encourage  his  own  troops  and  to  strike  terror 
into  the  natives,  he  relied  on  the  prophecy  of  Merlin  which  fore- 
told that  Ulster  would  be  conquered  by  a  white  knight,  sitting 
on  a  white  horse,  and  having  the  figures  of  birds  graven  on  his 
shield,  a  description  strikingly  exemplified  in  De  Courcy's  case. 
He  also  carried  round  with  him  a  prophecy  of  St.  Columba,  which 
foretold  that  a  needy  and  broken  man,  a  stranger  from  far 
countries,  should  come  to  Down  with  a  small  following  and 
possess  himself  of  the  city,  %  and  this  description  seemed  to  point 
to  De  Courcy.  These  prophecies  of  St.  Columba  were  not  so 
well  known  to  be  forgeries  then,  as  they  are  now  ;  ||  the  name 
of  St.  Columba  was  one  to  conjure  with  in  his  native  Ulster; 
and  it  may  be  that  many  regarded  resistance  to  De  Courcy  as 
hopeless,  seeing  that  he  was   fated  to  succeed. 

But  it  was  not  possible  to  stand  idly  by,  while  they  were 

*  Cambrensis,  p.  279      Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  232-3.     Lingard,  Vol.  II.,- 

P-  95- 

f  Ware's  Annals. 

X  Cambrensis,  pp.  278-80. 

II  Reeves'  Adamnan — Preface. 


2l8  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

robbed  and  plundered,  nor  could  it  be  forgotten  that  even  if 
the  prophecies  had  foretold  De  Courcy's  success,  they  had  also 
contemplated  that  the  natives  would  resist  him.  And  in  the  next 
year  they  were  more  successful  than  they  had  hitherto  been.  De 
Courcy  entered  Louth,  intending  to  overrun  the  district,  and 
was  met  with  a  stubborn  resistance.  Near  Newry  the  combined 
forces  of  O'Carroll  of  Oriel  and  MacDunlevy  met  him,  and  he 
was  defeated  with  the  loss  of  450  of  his  army.  A  little  later,  in 
the  same  year,  De  Courcy  entered  the  district  of  Firlee,  in  Antrim, 
and  returning  south  with  a  large  prey  of  cattle,  he  was  set  on 
by  O'Flynn,  the  chief  of  the  plundered  territory.*  Encumbered 
with  his  prey,  his  ranks^were  thrown  into  confusion,  his  troops 
were  cut  down  by  the  Irish,  who  had  lain  in  ambush  and  sprung 
upon  them,  and  such  was  the  loss  he  sustained,  that  he  escaped 
to  Downpatrick  with  only  eleven  survivors  of  that  fight,  f 
Such  disasters  would  have  broken  the  spirit  of  most  men,  but 
De  Courcy's  spirit  was  still  unbroken.  His  attenuated  ranks 
were  filled  by  recruits  from  Dublin,  needy,  desperate  adventurers, 
who  were  ready  to  join  in  any  enterprise,  and  who  in  courage 
and  military  skill  were  not  unworthy  of  the  leader  whom  they 
served.  From  his  central  stronghold  at  Downpatrick,  he  made 
continuous  raids  on  the  neighbouring  chiefs  and  carried  on  the 
desultory  warfare  of  a  robber  chief,  rather  than  any  well- 
defined  system  of  war.  A  combination  of  the  Ulster  chiefs 
would  have  crushed  him,  but  neither  the  lessons  of  history,  nor 
the  dictates  of  prudence  or  patriotism  taught  them  to  combine  ; 
and  with  fatal  shortsightedness,  they  carried  on  their  contests 
with  each  other,  as  if  no  invader  were  in  their  midst.  In  the 
year  1 1 79,  the  churches  of  Tirowen,  from  the  mountains  south- 
wards, were  left  desolate  in  consequence  of  war  and  intestine 
commotion,  and  Ardstraw  and  Donaghmore  were  desolated 
by  the  men  of  Magh  Ithe,  and  in  the  following  year  (1180), 
there  were  quarrels  between  the  Clan  Dermot  and  the  Kinnel 
Moen.J  A  little  later,  the  land  which  had  withstood  De  Courcy 
was  attacked  by  two  Ulster  chiefs,  for  Donal  O'Loughlin  and 
the  Kinnel  Owen  of  Tullahoge  raided  Uladh  and  defeated  Mac 
Dunleavy  and  Cumee  O'Flynn  ;  and  the  men  of  Magh-Ithe 
plundered  Firlee  ||  and  carried  off  many  thousands  of  cows. 
These  wars  weakened  the  native  forces  ;  the  opportunity  was 
not  lost  by  De  Courcy,  and  that  he  made  progress  appears  from 
the  fact,  that  an  English   colony  was  settled  at    Dunbo  (1182), 


*  Four  Masters. 

t  Four  Masters.      CambrensiSy  p;  2813 

X  Four  Masters. 

II  In  Derry,  along  the  valley  of  the  Bann. 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   INVADERS.  21 9 

west  of  the  river  Ban,  in  Derry.  This  colony  was  attacked 
by  the  Kinnel  Owen,  but  the  Irish  were  defeated,  and  three 
years  later  (i  185),  Murtagh  O'Loughlin  was  slain  by  the  English.* 
Invested  with  the  title  of  Viceroy  (i  186),  as  well  as  Earl  of  Ulster, 
De  Courcy  transferred  his  residence  to  Dublin,  and  for  nearly 
three  years  remained  inactive.  But  his  followers  in  Ulster 
were  not  so,  and  eagerly  seized  upon  any  opportunity  that  pre- 
sented itself  to  increase  their  hold  on  the  northern  province. 
The  English  of  Down,f  joined  by  another  neighbouring  colony 
of  their  countrymen,  made  a  raid  into  Tirowen  (1188),  and 
were  carrying  off  a  great  spoil  of  cattle,  but  they  were  pursued 
by  O'Loughlin  and  overtaken,  and  beaten  in  battle,  though 
O'Loughlin  himself  was  slain.  The  next  year,  a  party  of  English 
entered  Fermanagh  and  defeated  O' Carroll  of  Oriel,  and 
O'Mulrony,  Lord  of  Fermanagh  ;  the  English  were  victorious 
and    O'Mulrony   was   killed. J 

Henry  II.  of  England  died  in  1189.  His  son,  Richard,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne,  but  the  new  King  paid  no  attention  to  Irish 
affairs.  From  its  petty  disputes  and  provincial  wars  he  turned 
with  contempt,  and  sought  in  the  Third  Crusaae  a  wider  field 
for  adventure,  and  not  even  the  bravest  of  the  Frankish  leaders 
was  more  feared  by  the  Saracens,  than  was  Richard,  Coeur  de 
Lion.  While  the  English  King  fought  on  the  sands  of  Asia,  or 
languished  in  a  prison,  John  had  full  authority  at  home  ;  and 
one  of  his  first  acts  was  to  displace  De  Courcy  from  the  vice- 
royalty,  and  appoint  Hugh  de  Lacy,  the  younger,  son  of  the 
first  Viceroy,  in  his  stead.  ||  The  deposed  Viceroy  took  up  his 
headquarters  at  Downpatrick,  married  a  daughter  of  Godred, 
King  of  Man,  and  for  many  years  his  life  was  one  of  danger  and 
hardship,  of  forays  and  battles,  of  victories  and  defeats.  In 
the  northern  province,  he  lived  like  an  independent  prince, 
kept  a  certain  number  of  soldiers  always  in  his  pay,  made  war 
and  peace  on  his  own  initiative,  coined  money,  made  grants  of 
land,  and  all  without  any  pretence  of  consulting,  either  the 
English  king,  or  his  representative  at  Dublin.**  His  raids  on 
the  neighbouring  chiefs  have  not  all  been  recorded,  but  the  first 
year  of  his  return  to  Downpatrick,  he  plundered  the  churches 
of  Armagh  ;•[+  and  it  may  be  assumed  that  many  others  of  the 
northern  churches  were  treated  similarly.     His  progress  to  the 

*  Four  Masters. 

f  Of    Moy   Cova — now    Donaghmore — midway    between    Newry    and 
Loughbrickland,  in  the  Barony  of  Upper  Iveagh  {Four  Masters). 
X  Four  Masters. 
II  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.   55. 
**  Ibid.  pp.   59-60. 
tt  Four  Masters. 


220  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

conquest  of  all  Ulster,  or  even  to  the  greater  part  of  it,  was 
barred  by  the  ability  of  some  of  its  chiefs,  who,  if  they  could 
have  acted  together,  would  have  driven  him  from  the  province. 
But  the  death  of  O'Carroll  of  Oriel,  who  had  been  captured  by 
the  English,  first  blinded  and  then  hanged  (1193),  and  in  the 
following  year,  the  death  of  Cumee  O'Flynn,  De  Courcey's  old 
antagonist,  removed  two  of  his  ablest  opponents  ;  and  the  quarrels 
between  MacDunleavy  of  Uladh  and  the  chief  of  Tullahoge 
(1196),  smoothed  his  path  to  conquest,  and  enabled  him  to 
acquire  territory  and  build  castles  in  districts,  which  hitherto 
had  not  owned  his  sway.  One  of  these  strong  castles  he  built 
(1197),  at  Kilsandle,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river  Bann,  and 
but  a  couple  of  miles  from  the  present  town  of  Coleraine.  The 
governor  whom  he  appointed  in  charge  of  this  castle — one 
Russel  *  by  name — was  of  an  aggressive  disposition,  and  wishing 
to  extend  his  power  westward,  he  frequently  sallied  forth  from 
the  castle  gates,  plundered  both  the  churches  and  territory  of 
Tirowen,  nor  did  he  cease  on  one  of  these  expeditions  until 
he  reached  Derry.  He  was  pursued  by  the  prince  of  Tirconnell 
and  Tirowen,  Flaherty  O'Muldory,  overtaken  at  a  place  called 
Faughanvale,  and  defeated  with  the  loss  of  many  of  his  men, 
among  the  slain  being  a  Tirowen  chief,  O'Loughlin,  who  had 
deserted  to  the  English  and  joined  in  the  plundering  of  his  own 
countrymen.  In  the  same  year,  Flaherty  O'Muldory  died  (i  197), 
and  was  succeeded  in  Tirconnell  by  O'Doherty.  De  Courcy 
judged  the  time  propitious  for  one  of  his  raids,  and  mustering 
an  army,  entered  Tirconnell.  He  was  opposed  by  O'Doherty, 
but  the  Irish  were  beaten,  three  hundred  of  them  were  killed, 
O'Doherty  himself  was  slain,  Innishowen  was  left  at  De  Courcy's 
mercy,  and,  when  he  had  wasted  and  plundered  it,  he  returned 
to  one  of  his  strong  castles.  Again,  in  the  following  year  (i  198), 
he  entered  Tirowen  and  continued  to  ravage  and  plunder  it, 
until  he  reached  Derry,  but  its  chief,  Hugh  O'Neill,  unable  to 
meet  him  in  the  field,  effectually  retaliated  by  attacking  from 
the  sea  the  English  colonists  in  Antrim,  on  whom  he  inflicted 
serious  loss.f  To  these  evils  which  fell  on  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen 
there  was  added  the  further  evil  of  quarrelling  among  themselves, 
but  though  they  made  war  on  each  other  they  had  the  sense, 
at  least  for  a  time,  to  suspend  their  quarrels  ;  and  when  the 
English  made  a  descent  on  Tirowen  (1199),  Hugh  O'Neill  was 
able  to  meet  them  with  large  forces,  and  near  Dungannon  J 
the  invaders  were  defeated  with  heavy  loss,  and  those  that  re- 
mained were  glad  to  escape  with  their  lives.  <•    ;•> 

*  Four  Masters.     By  the  Four  Masters  he  is  called  Rotsel  Piton; 

t  Ibid. 

X  At  Donaghmore,  three  miles  from  Dungannon  {Four  Masters). 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   INVADERS.  221 

De  Lacy,  the  younger,  was  but  three  years  Viceroy  when, 

like   his   predecessor — De   Courcy — he,    too,  was   removed    from 

office.      He   retired   to   his   own   territory   in   Meath,   which   he 

governed   with   his  own   troops,   and   though,   being   nearer   to 

Dublin,  he  was  more  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  English 

king,  yet  in  his  own  territory  he  could  scarcely  be  distinguished 

from  an  independent  monarch.     Perhaps  it  was  the  memory  of 

being  once  Viceroy  and  of  having  lost  the  favor  of  a  fickle  prince, 

that  brought   De  Lacy  and  De  Courcy  together,  but  it  is  certain 

that  more  than  once  they  fought  side  by  side  and  in  a  common 

cause — in    1196  against  the   English  of  Leinster  and   Munster, 

and  a  few  years  later  in  Connaught.*     In  the  interval,  Petit  and 

William   Marshall,   who,   as   joint  Viceroys,   succeeded  De  Lacy, 

were  replaced  (1194)  by  Pipard,  and  to  him  succeeded    (1197) 

De  Valois  and  (1199)    Meyler  FitzHenry,|  these  rapid    changes 

showing  that  it  was  difficult  to  retain  the  favor  of  Prince  John. 

By  the  death  of  Richard  (1199)  he  became  King,  and  De  Lacy, 

who   was  something  of  a  courtier,   made  efforts   to   ingratiate 

himself  with  the  new   king,  nor  was  he  very  scrupulous  as  to 

the  means    he  employed.     Though  he  had  acted  sometimes  in 

concert  with  De  Courcy,  he  appears  to  have  entertained  but  little 

regard  for  him,  and  was  willing  to  compass  his  ruin,  thinking 

it  might  serve  his  own  ends.     He  represented  to  King  John  that 

De  Courcy  was  disloyal,  that  he  lived  and  acted  as  an  independent 

king,  and  protesting  his  own   loyalty   and  personal  attachment 

to  his  royal  master,  he  was  believed  and  was  appointed  Viceroy 

(1203).      And  as  soon  as  he  was  installed  in  his  new  position, 

he  marched  northwards  with  some  troops,  proclaimed  De  Courcy 

a  rebel  and  a  traitor,  and  having  taken  him  prisoner,  sent  him 

under  escort  to  England  (1204),  to  be  tried  for  his  misdeeds;  ij; 

De  Courcy 's  estates   were  then  confiscated,  and  De  Lacy  himself 

was  made  Earl  of  Ulster. 

The  subsequent  history  of  De  Courcy  is  unknown,  though 
there  were  not  wanting  those  who  were  ready  to  give  it,  and 
with  many  embellishments,  so  that  his  last  years  might  be  in 
keeping  with  his  hitherto  eventful  career.  ||  It  was  said  that 
he  went  to  the  Crusades,  where  he  distinguished  himself  as 
few  others  could  have  done.  It  was  said  that  he  was  restored 
to  all  his  Irish  estates,  that  he  returned  to  Ireland,  and  died  in 

*  The  O' Conors  of  Connaught,  p.  81. 

t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.   56-58. 

\  De  Courcy  was  surprised  in  the  church  of  Down,  while  performing 
his  devotions  on  Good  Friday.  He  was  unarmed,  but  snatched  the  pole 
of  a  cross  from  the  head  of  a  grave,  and  with  this  killed  13  of  De  Lacy's 
soldiers  before  he  was  overpowered.    {^Viceroys,  p.  62.) 

11  Four  Masters  at  the  year  1204   (O'Donovan's  note). 


222  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Ulster.  It  was  said  that  he  languished  in  prison,  in  England 
until,  before  an  assembly  of  the  French  and  English  kings  and 
the  notabilities  of  both  countries,  he  was  brought  to  take  up 
the  challenge  of  a  French  knight,  whom  he  frightened  out  of 
the  lists  with  one  awful  glance  of  his  eye.  But  he  was  determined 
to  show  what  he  could  do  with  his  sword,  and  taking  a  piece 
of  timber,  he  covered  it  with  a  helmet  and  coat  of  mail,  and  giving 
"  such  a  grim  look  that  strange  it  was  to  behold,"  he  struck 
through  helmet  and  coat  of  mail  and  embedded  his  sword  so 
firmly  in  the  timber,  that  no  one  could  take  it  out  with  two 
hands,  though  De  Courcy  took  it  out  with  one.  And  when 
he  was  asked  why  he  looked  so  terrible  before  he  struck  with 
his  sword,  he  answered,  "  by  St.  Patrick  of  Down,  if  I  had  missed 
of  this  purpose,  in  striking  such  a  stroke,  that  I  would  have 
slain  both  you  Kings,  and  so  many  as  I  could  more,  and  that 
you  should  never  report  of  me  anything  more  ;  and  this  for 
the  old  sores  that  I  felt  at  your  hands  afore,  and  in  defence  of 
this  French  champion  and  mine  honesty."  *  A  little  of  this 
may  be  true,  most  of  it  is  manifestly  false.  What  is  certain  is, 
that  he  accompanied  King  John  to  Ireland  (12  lo),  that  he  once 
more  entered  Ulster,  in  that  year,  that  he  enjoyed  a  pension  of 
:f  100  a  yeai  from  the  English  Treasury,  and  that,  after  12 10,  his 
name  occurs  no  more  in  the  Irish  Annals.f  He  appears  to 
have  died  without  issue,  though  the  De  Courcys  of  Cork  claimed 
descent  from  him,  and  as  such  have  claimed  the  somewhat  un- 
meaning privilege  of  remaining  with  their  heads  covered,  in 
the  presence  of  the  English  king. J 

*  This  is  the  account  given  by  the  Book  of  Howth  {Carew  MSS.),  pp: 
1 13-1 14.  It  is  copied  by  Hanmer,  who  appears  to  believe  it  allj  pp.  366 
ei  seq.  {Ancient  Irish  Histories,  Vol.  II.). 

\  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.  72,   500  502. 

:J:  Four  Masters.     (O'Donovan's  note). 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


The    O'Connors    of    Connaught. 

The  position  of  Roderick  O'Connor  under  the  Treaty  of  Windsor. — In- 
vasion of  Connaught  by  the  English — Quarrels  among  the  natives — 
Roderick's  troubles  from  his  children — De  Courcy's  invasion  of 
Connaught — Quarrels  among  the  O'Connors — Cahal  Carrach  and 
Cahal   Crovderg — Intervention   of   De   Burgho — Death   of   Crovderg. 

By  the  Treaty  of  Windsor,  Roderick  O'Connor  ceased  to  be 
Ardri,  in  the  older  and  more  usual  sense  of  the  term,  or,  indeed, 
in  any  sense,  for  outside  of  his  own  native  province  he  was 
destitute  of  authority.  The  pre-eminence  assigned  to  him 
over  the  other  provinces  was  shadowy  and  nominal  ;  it  was 
a  mere  concession  to  his  vanity  and  pride,  and  intended,  perhaps, 
to  soothe  in  his  adverse  fortunes  the  bitter  memories  of  the  fallen 
monarch.  The  other  native  princes  were  directed  to  pay  through 
his  hands  their  tribute  to  the  English  king,  but  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  this  provision  of  the  Treaty  was  insisted  on,  for  the 
English  only  wanted  the  tribute,  and  it  mattered  little  through 
whose  hands  it  came.  Nor  would  the  native  princes  be  likely 
to  voluntarily  submit  in  anything  to  that  king,  who,  almost 
without  a  blow,  had  allowed  the  sceptre  of  the  High-King  of 
Erin  to  fall  from  his  nerveless  grasp,  and  whose  stupidity  and 
imbecility  had  made  the  path  of  conquest  so  easy  for  the  in- 
vaders. But  within  his  own  province  of  Connaught,  Roderick's 
power  remained  and  his  position  was  clear  and  well  defined. 
The  tribute  he  was  to  pay  to  the  English  king  was  small,  so 
small  that  its  payment  was  scarcely  felt,  and  as  long  as  it  was 
paid,  Roderick  might  feel  secure  that  within  the  limits  of  his 
native  province,  neither  native  nor  English  would  contest  his 
right  to  rule.  But  there  were  many  amongst  the  invaders, 
who  had  not  yet  acquired  those  possessions  which  they  so  greedily 
sought.  De  Lacy  had  got  Meath,  Strongbow  had  got  Leinster, 
De  Courcy  was  hastening  to  the  invasion  and,  as  he  hoped,  to 
the  conquest  of  Ulster,  and  some  of  his  compatriots  at  Dublin 
a«=ked    themselves — Why    should    not    Connaught    also  become 


224  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

the  prey  of  some  successful  adventurer.  It  does  not  appear 
that  Roderick  had  violated  any  of  his  engagements  with  Henry 
II.  ;  his  kingdom  of  Connaught  was  guaranteed  him  as  long 
as  he  faithfully  served  that  King,  (quamdiu  ei  fideliter  serviet),* 
and  there  is  no  evidence  that  in  any  sense  he  had  been  unfaithful. 
Yet,  in  the  face  of  these  facts,  the  invasion  of  Connaught  was 
resolved  upon.  A  rebellious  and  unnatural  son  of  Roderick — 
Morrogh  by  name — had  quarrelled  with  his  father  ;  in  his  chagrin 
he  had  hastened  to  the  English  at  Dublin  and  asked  their  assist- 
ance ;  and  this  was  the  pretext  for  the  invasion.  Their  hope 
was  that  when  the  O'Connors  were  fighting  among  themselves, 
little  resistance  could  be  offered  them,  and  the  province  would 
easily  become   their  prey. 

With  the  consent  of  the  Viceroy,  an  army  of  500  j"  was  col- 
lected, and  with  Milo  de  Cogan  at  their  head,  these  troops  marched 
to  the  conquest  of  the  western  province.  Milo  was  a  tried  and 
trained  soldier,  his  abilities  for  command  had  been  already 
proved  at  Dublin  and  elsewhere,  and  at  the  head  of  such  troops 
as  he  commanded  he  believed  that  Connaught  could  be  won. 
Cardinal  Vivian  had  just  presided  (1177)  at  a  Synod,  at  Dublin, 
and  had  published  Adrian's  Bull  and  commanded,  through  the 
bishops  and  abbots  present,  that  the  Irish  should  submit  to 
Henry  II.,  and  this  under  threat  of  excommunication.  The 
Irish  in  their  wars  with  the  English  had  been  accustomed  to 
store  their  provisions  in  the  churches,  so  that  within  their  con- 
secrated walls  their  goods  would  escape  the  rapacity  of  the 
strangers.  Vivian  condemned  the  custom — and  it  must  be 
owned  that  a  church  filled  with  corn  and  hay  was  little  like  what 
a  church  should  be  and  ill-suited  for  the  service  of  God — and  he 
allowed  the  English  in  their  wars  to  enter  the  churches  and 
take  what  provisions  they  required,  but  they  should  compensate 
the  owners  for  what  they  took.  I  These  proceedings  were  very 
welcome  to  De  Cogan  and  his  troops.  They  took  little  provisions 
with  them,  when  leaving  Dublin  ;  they  relied  on  obtaining  plenty 
in  Connaught,  for,  if  the  fields  and  even  the  houses  were  to 
be  empty,  the  churches  at  least  would  be  full.  But  it  was  not 
Vivian's  object  to  make  it  easy  for  the  English  to  replenish  their 
exhausted  supplies  at  the  expense  of  the  Irish  ;  it  was  rather 
to  prevent  the  churches  from  being  turned  into  granaries  and 
diverted  from  the  sacred  purposes  for  which  they  were  built. 
And  when  De  Cogan  and  his  troops  crossed  the  Shannon  at 


*  Cox  :    Hibernia  Aiiglicafiaj   pp.   29-30,  where  the  Treaty  is  given 
in  full,  in  the  original  Latin. 
I   Cambrensis,  p.   283. 
X  Ibid.^  p:  282.     Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  233. 


THE   O'CONNORS   OF   CONNAUGHT.  225 

Athlone,  they  found  the  churches  empty,*  the  villages  deserted, 
the  fields  swept  bare  ;  the  people  had  retired  into  the  shelter 
and  solitude  of  the  woods  ;  and  on  his  journey  westwards  to 
Tuam,  De  Cogan  passed  through  a  deserted  land.  Nor  could 
he  find  at  Tuam,  where  he  remained  for  eight  days,  either  pro- 
visions or  people,  for  that  town  also  had  been  deserted,  and  without 
an  enemy  to  fight,  or  food  to  obtain,  De  Cogan  commenced  his 
retreat  back  to  Dublin.  The  Irish  troops,  who  had  hitherto 
remained  concealed,  now  became  visible  and  harassed  the  re- 
treating army.  At  Ballymoe  they  attacked  them  in  force,  and 
though  the  English  cut  their  way  through,  their  loss  was  heavy. 
They  were  still  pursued  until  they  finally  left  the  province,  and 
when  they  reached  the  other  side  of  the  Shannon,  greatly  re- 
duced in  numbers,  depressed  in  spirits,  weak,  way-worn  and 
hungry,  they  bore  but  little  resemblance  to  that  army  of  500 
men,  who,  but  a  fortnight  before,  had  crossed  the  Shannon  and 
were  marching  to  the  conquest  of  Connaught.  Among  the 
prisoners  taken  by  the  Irish  was  the  traitor,  Morrogh  O'Connor, 
and  with  the  full  consent  of  his  father  his  eyes  were  put  out, 
as  the  just  punishment    of  his  treason,  f 

In  his  desertion  to  the  English,  Morrogh  O'Connor  had 
got  no  support  in  Connaught ;  chiefs  and  people  held  aloof 
from  him,  and  to  this  is  largely,  if  not  entirely,  due  the  success 
that  followed.  The  Connaughtmen  were  taught  how  much 
unity  and  determination  could  accomplish  ;  the  English  were 
also  taught  a  much  needed  lesson,  and  when  Henry  II.  in  de- 
fiance of  all  treaty  engagements,  granted  all  Connaught  to 
De  Burgho,  that  noble  shrank  from  attempting  the  conquest  of 
the  province.  But  the  unity  of  the  Connaughtmen  did  not  last ; 
neither  did  the  O'Connors  remain  at  peace  with  the  other  native 
chiefs.  A  quarrel  arose  between  the  son  of  Roderick — Connor 
Mainmoy — and  Connor  O' Kelly,  chiet  of  Hy-many,  and  a  battle 
was  fought  (1180),  called  the  "battle  of  the  Connors,"  in  which 
the  losses  were  heavy  on  both  sides,  Connor  O' Kelly  and  many 
of  the  chiefs  of  Hy-Many  being  among  the  slain.  J  The  next 
year  Connaught  and  Tirconnell  went  to  war,  and  in  the  battle 
which  ensued  the  Connaught  forces  were  beaten  with  the  loss 
of  a  large  portion  of  their  army.  Concurrently  with  these  events, 
there  was  war  in  Munster  between  Desmond  and  Thomond 
(1178),  when  the  whole  country  was  laid  waste  from  Limerick 
to  Cork.     A  little  later  (11 82),  Milo  de  Cogan  was  killed.     Jointly 

*  Giraldus  says  they  took  down  the  crucifixes  and  images  of  the  Saints 
from  the  church  walls  and  threw  them  before  the  Englishj  so  that  the 
vengeance  of  God  might  fall  upon  themj 

f  The  O'Conors  of  Connaught,  p.  74. 

[X  Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

Q 


226  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

with  Robert  FitzStephen  he  had  been  granted  by  Henry  II. 
that  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Desmond,  westward  from  Lismore 
and  southward  to  the  city  of  Cork  and  the  sea,  the  city  itself 
being  specially  reserved  to  the  King  and  garrisoned  by  royal 
troops.  Either  unable  or  unwilling  to  contest  Henry's  grant, 
Dermot  MacCarthy,  King  of  Desmond,  allowed  these  two 
knights  to  occupy  the  lands  named  and  to  divide  them,  De 
Cogan's  share  being  that  nearest  to  the  city  of  Cork  For  five 
years  he  enjoyed  his  territory  in  peace,  but  on  one  occasion, 
as  he  journed  to  Water  ford,  he  was  set  upon  by  a  native  chief — 
MacTyre — and  murdered.*  His  death  encouraged  the  natives 
to  take  up  arms,  something  like  unity  was  temporarily  established 
among  them  and  the  power  of  the  English  in  Cork  and  its 
neighbourhood  was  nearly  destroyed.  But  this  unity  was 
soon  followed  by  division,  and  both  in  Munster  and  Connaught 
almost  every  year  some  fresh  quarrel  arose,  which  resulted  in 
war. 

For  years  before  his  death,  the  life  of  Henry  II.  was  made 
miserable,  and  at  length  his  heart  was  broken  by  the  conduct 
of  his  children.  It  was  the  fate  of  Roderick  O'Connor  to  have 
equally  rebellious  sons.  His  son,  Morrogh,  had  brought  the 
invaders  into  Connaught ;  he  failed  and  was  punished.  His 
failure  and  punishment  did  not  deter  his  brother,  Connor 
Mainmoy,  from  being  equally  disrespectful  to  his  father,  but 
at  least  Connor  had  no  desire  to  see  his  native  province  in  chains, 
and  perhaps  it  was  because  he  felt  that  his  father  was  unable 
to  defend  it,  that  he  wished  to  depose  him.  To  purchase  peace, 
even  for  a  little,  Roderick  entered  the  monastery  of  Cong  (1183), 
but  the  life  of  a  monastery  soon  ceased  to  have  attractions  for 
him,  and  he  left  Cong  (11 85).  As  Connor  Mainmoy  refused 
to  surrender  the  throne  to  him,  Roderick  proceeded  to  Munster, 
obtained  the  assistance  of  Donal  O'Brien,  and  at  the  head  of  an 
army,  desolated  the  west  of  Connaught — ^both  churches  and 
territory.  Peace  was  then  made.  Connaught  was  divided 
between  father  and  son,  but  they  soon  quarrelled  and  Connor 
drove  his  father  into  exile,  (1186),  into  Munster.  f 

Armed  with  the  resources  of  the  Viceroy  and  judging  that 
the  late  wars  had  weakened  it,  De  Courcy  believed  (11 88), 
that  the  moment  was  opportune  for  an  invasion  of  Connaught, 
and  that  at  last  that  stubborn  province  would  be  subdued. J 
He  estimated,  that  not  only  was  its  own  strength  exhausted,  but 

*  CambrensiSj  pp.   283-6. 

t  Four  Masters.      Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

X  As  usual  he  was  invited  by  a  native  prince,  Connor  MacDermott, 
{Four  Masters).  The  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  add  he  was  accompanied  by 
Roderick  O'Connor. 


THE   O'CONNORS   OF   CONNAUGHT.  227 

he  felt  sure  no  help  would  come  from  Thomond,  with  which 
province  it  had  so  lately  fought.  His  expectations  were  falsi- 
fied. O'Brien  had  fought  the  Connaughtmen  and  even  em- 
ployed English  mercenaries  for  the  purpose,  but  he  felt  that 
the  subjugation  of  Connaught  by  the  English  would  be  but  the 
prelude  to  the  conquest  of  Thomond.  For  a  similar  reason, 
Flaherty  O'Muldory  of  Tirconnell  came  to  the  aid  of  the  threatened 
province  ;  and  when  De  Courcy  entered  Connaught,  and  pro- 
ceeding westwards,  was  robbing  and  plundering  on  his  march, 
he  learned  with  dismay  that  the  united  forces  of  Connaught 
and  Thomond  were  approaching  fast.  Before  this  combination 
he  judged  it  wise  to  fall  back,and  turning  north  he  passed  through 
Sligo  to  Ballysodare,  intending  to  go  still  further  and  enter 
Tirconnell.  Here  he  was  confronted  by  a  strong  force  under 
O'Muldory,  who  had  advanced  rapidly  from  Drumcliff,  and, 
burning  Ballysodare,  De  Courcy  turned  eastwards.  Passing 
over  the  Curlew  Mountains,  he  encountered  the  forces  of  Desmond 
and  Connaught,  at  every  step  his  men  were  cut  down,  and,  by 
the  time  he  reached  Leinster,  of  that  army  which  was  to  have 
conquered  Connaught,  but  few  remained,  while  Connaught 
was  still  triumphant   and  unsubdued.* 

At  this  period,  it  was  evident  that  Connaught  had  at  last 
an  able  and  vigorous  chief,  that  the  sceptre  of  Roderick  had 
fallen  into  worthier  hands,  and  that  the  prospect  before  the 
province  was  that  its  interests  would  be  safe-guarded,  against 
either  foreign  or  domestic  foe.  But  treachery  was  again  at 
work,  and  in  the  following  year,  Mainmoy  was  assassinated 
by  a  man  of  his  own  tribe,  instigated  by  Connor's  own  brother. 
Once  again  the  way  was  ready  for  domestic  strife,  and  the 
flames  of  war  were  kindled.  The  vacant  throne  was  contended 
for  by  Cathal  Carrach  and  Cathal  Crovderg,  f  the  former  being 
son  of  the  murdered  king,  the  latter  a  younger  son  of  the  great 
Turlogh  O'Connor  and  therefore  a  younger  brother  of  Roderick. 
To  add  to  the  confusion, Roderick  himself  once  more  claimed  the 
throne.  Pity  for  the  fallen  monarch  and  attachment  to  a 
venerated  name  induced  some  few  clans  to  tender  him  their 
allegiance,  but  these  clans  were  few  and  powerless. :|:  The  times 
required  a  strong  hand  at  the  helm  ;  the  enemies  of  Connaught 
were  many  ;  and  he  was  ill-suited  to  be   its   king,   who  had  never 

*  Four  Masters.      Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

t  Put  in  English  Cathal  Crovderg,  means  Charles  of  the  Red  Hand, 
and  the  tradition  was,  that  his  red  hand  was  caused  by  a  sorceress  and  at 
the  time  of  his  birth.  He  was  the  illegitimate  son  of  Turlogh  O'Connor 
by  a  girl  named  Moran,  from  the  district  of  Umhall,  in  Mayo.  {Four 
Masters,  anno.    1224.) 

X  Four  Masters,   1189. 


228  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

shown  capacity,  even  in  youth,  and  to  whose  natural  feebleness 
of  character  there  was  superadded  the  feebleness  of  old  age. 
Nor  did  he  obtain  help  from  the  chief  of  Tirconnell  to  whom 
he  appealed  (1191),*  for  that  chief  remembered  that  it  was  his 
lack  of  vigour  and  energy  that  had  facilitated  the  English  conquest 
of  Ireland,  and  brought  the  miseries  of  foreign  invasion,  not 
only  to  Connaught,  but  to  Tirconnell.  He  made  a  similar 
request  to  Tirowen  ;  he  even  appealed  to  the  English  of  Meath, 
but  everywhere  he  was  repulsed  ;  nobody,  English  or  Irish, 
wished  to  see  him  on  the  throne  ;  and,  disappointed  and  disgusted 
he  retired  to  Cong  where  he  remained  until  his  death.  But 
meantime  the  struggle  was  continued  between  Cathal  Carrach, 
and  Cathal  Crovderg.  To  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood  between 
relatives,  and  to  save  Connaught  from  the  horrors  of  civil  war, 
a  conference  was  arranged  at  Clonfert,  in  Galway,  and  which 
was  attended  by  both  claimants  to  the  throne.  But  even  the 
influence  of  the  Primate  of  Armagh,  f  who  was  present  at  their 
meeting,  was  unable  to  make  peace  ;  they  could  not  be  reconciled  ; 
they  parted,  determined  to  continue  the  war,  and  for  a  time 
Cathal  Carrach  triumphed  and  reigned,  while  Crovderg  had 
to  be  satisfied  with  a  subordinate  position.  It  was  during  this 
period  the  English  of  Leinster  entered  Thomond  and  plundered 
it,  as  far  as  Killaloe.  They  were  met  by  Donal  O'Brien,  who 
defeated  them,  pursued  them  into  Ossory  and  inflicted  a  second 
defeat  on  them  at  Thurles.  Two  years  later  (1194),  he  died, 
and  the  English  could  rejoice  at  the  disappearance  of  the  ablest 
and  the  most  persevering  of  their  foes.J 

Cathal  Crovderg,  who  had  remained  quiet  for  some  time, 
again  became  restless  and  making  an  alliance  with  the  English 
and  Irish  of  Meath  he  marched  into  Munster  (1195),  where  he 
burned  several  castles  and  took  possession  of  Emly  and  Cashel. 
In  his  absence,  a  Connaught  chief — apparently  exiled  in  Munster — 
Cahal  MacDermot — got  together  some  torces,  attacked  Crovderg's 
possessions  in  Connaught  and  seized  his  vessels  on  Lough  Mask, 
and  plundered  the  neighbouring  people,  proceedings  which 
compelled  Crovderg  to  return  from  Munster,  when  he  made 
peace  with  MacDermot,  and  shortly  after  with  O'FIaherty  of  West 
Connaught  (i  197),  who  had  made  some  attack  on  him.  During 
these  years,  there  were  no  quarrels,  at  least  no  battles,  between 
Cathal  Carrach  and  Cathal  Crovderg,  and  when  Roderick  died  at 
Cong  (i  198),  it  seemed  as  it  they  weie  about  to  be  permanently  re- 
conciled and  make  peace  over  his  freshly  closed  grave.     But,  in  the 

*  Four  Masters.     Loch  Ce. 

t  His  name  was  Tomaltagh  or  Thomas  O'Connor.    He  was  a  relative 
of  these  princes;    he  died  in  1201,     {Ware's  Bishops): 
X  Four  Masters,    11 92-1 194. 


THE   O  CONNORS   OF   CONNAUGHT.  229 

next  year,  the  quarrel  was  renewed  and  as  Cathal  Car rach  proved 
the  stronger,  he  drove  Crovderg  from  the  province.  In  this, 
he  did  not  quietly  acquiesce  and  making  his  way  to  Tirowen, 
he  obtained  the  aid  of  its  chief — Hugh  O'Neill — and  the  men 
of  Oriel.  Cathal  Carrach  with  the  assistance  of  De  Burgho, 
and  the  English  of  Limerick  met  them  at  Ballysodare,  in  Sligo, 
and  Crovderg  and  his  northern  allies  were  defeated.  In  this 
expedition  the  ravages  perpetrated  by  the  army  of  Cathal  Carrach 
and  De  Burgho  were  more  than  usually  severe.  From  the 
Shannon  westwards  to  the  sea,  they  pillaged  and  destroyed  every- 
thing, so  that  neither  church,  nor  altar,  nor  priest,  nor  monk, 
nor  canon,  nor  abbot,  nor  bishop  afforded  protection  against 
them,  and  they  stripped  the  priests  in  the  churches  and  carried 
off  the  women,  so  that  never  before  was  Connaught  so  afflicted.* 
Determined  even  yet  to  prevail,  Crovderg  obtained  the  aid  of 
De  Courcy  and  De  Lacy,  and  with  these,  again  entered  Connaught 
and  advanced  as  far  as  Kilmacduagh,  where  they  were  met  and 
again  defeated  by  Cathal  Carrach.  With  the  loss  of  three  bat- 
talions out  of  five,  the  English  retreated  towards  the 
Shannon,  and  at  Rindown  on  the  shores  of  Lough  Ree,  they  were 
embarking  for  the  other  side,  when  the  forces  of  Cathal  Carrach 
again  overtook  them.f  Those  that  had  crossed  were  unable 
to  help  those  on  the  other  side,  these  latter  were  hemmed  in  and 
taken  at  a  disadvantage,  unprepared  for  the  attack  and  dis- 
pirited by  recent  defeat,  their  resistance  was  feeble.  Many 
were  slain,  many  were  drowned,  few  escaped,  and  the  English 
were  once  again  taught  that  Connaught  was  not  a  safe  place 
to  invade.  Even  yet,  Crovderg  would  not  acknowledge  himself 
beaten,  and  two  years  later  the  fight  for  supremacy  was  renewed. 
On  this  occasion  De  Burgho  was  his  ally,  showing  the  readiness 
with  which  in  these  contests  the  Englisli  as  well  as  the  Irish 
changed  sides.  Perhaps  De  Burgho  had  some  reason  to  think 
that  Crovderg  was  at  last  about  to  triumph  and  he  wished  to 
be  on  the  side  of  success,  or,  perhaps,  it  was  because  his  soldiers 
were  promised  higher  pay.  The  invading  army  entered 
Connaught,  and  passing  through  Tuam  and  Oran  in  Ros- 
common, established  their  headquarters  at  the  monastery  of 
Boyle.  Their  conduct  was  in  keeping  with  the  worst  traditions 
of  a  mercenary  army.  They  defiled  the  whole  monastery, 
turned  the  monks  out  of  their  cells,  left  them  only  their  dormi- 
tories and  the  house  of  the  novices,  and  in  the  cloisters  and  in 
the  hospital,  and  even  in  the  church,  there  were  enacted  scenes 
of  gross  and  shameful  immorality,  of  which  even  savages  might 

*  Annals  of  Loch  Ce,   1200. 
f  Four  Masters,   1199. 


230  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

be  ashamed.  Cathal  Carrach  with  his  Connaughtmen  marched 
to  meet  his  new  foes,  and  while  the  two  armies  stood  facing  each 
other,  he  went  to  see  some  skirmishing  which  was  taking  place, 
and  getting  mixed  up  with  the  combatants  on  his  own  side,  he 
was  killed.* 

With  his  death  the  long  contest  for  supremacy  was  ended 
(1201),  and  Crovderg  was  at  last  King  of  Connaught.  In 
company  with  his  ally,  De  Burgho,  he  marched  westward  and 
spent  the  Easter  at  Cong.  Such  an  army  as  theirs,  flushed 
with  success,  feeling  that  they  were  passing  through  a  conquered 
district,  must  have  perpetrated  many  evils  on  the  natives,  and 
invited  that  terrible  retribution  with  which  they  were  soon 
overtaken.  Having  no  money  with  which  to  pay  these  English 
mercenaries,  Crovderg,  by  agreement  with  De  Burgho,  had 
them  billeted  through  Connaught,  promising  that  after  a  time 
their  wages  would  be  paid.  The  conduct  of  mercenary  soldiers 
in  a  land  which  has  been  conquered  by  their  arms,  is  rarely 
anything  but  trying  to  the  people  among  whom  they  live,  and 
those  soldiers  had  already  shocked  and  disgusted  the  Connaught- 
men. Their  punishment  was  swift  and  terrible.  A  report 
spread  throughout  the  province  and  was  everywhere  credited, 
that  De  Burgho  had  suddenly  died  ;  and,  as  if  by  mutual  agree- 
ment, though  it  appears  it  was  nothing  but  sudden  impulse, 
the  natives  fell  with  fury  on  the  soldiers  quartered  in  their  midst 
and  in  one  awful  night  of  retribution  and  murder,  nine  hundred 
English  soldiers  were  butchered  in  cold  blood,  j  De  Burgho 
retired  to  Limerick,  and  the  next  year  (1203),  aided  by  the  English 
of  Munster  and  Meath,  he  entered  Connaught,  wasted  the 
country  through  which  he  passed,  desecrated  and  robbed  the 
monasteries  of  Clonfert  and  Clonmacnoise,  and  for  the  first 
time  established  some  settlements  in  the  province  and  erected 
some  stong  castles.  |  A  year  later,  he  continued  his  career 
of  desecration  and  plunder,  and  the  churches  of  Tuam,  Kil- 
bannon.  Mayo,  Cong,  Boyle,  Elphin  and  many  others  suffered 
at  his  hands.  In  that  year  (1204),  he  died  rather  suddenly 
of  a  loathsome  disease,  it  was  said,  and  the  Annalists  attributed 
his  sudden  death  and  the  disgusting  disease  from  which  he  died 
to  the  wrath  of  the  saints^  whose  churches  he  had  desecrated 
or  destroyed.  || 

Without  a  rival  in  Connaught,  or  a  powerful  enemy  such 
as  De  Burgho  to    contend  with,  Crovderg  was  able  to    assert 

*  Annals  of  Loch  Ce,  1202.      Four  Masters,  1201: 
f  Annals  of  Loch  Ce,   1202.      The  Four  Masters  make  the  number 
killed  (anno  1201)  to  be  only  700. 
X  Ibid. 
II  Annals  of  Loch  Ce.     Annals  of  Clotimacnoise. 


THE   O'CONNORS   OF   CONNAUGHT.  23 1 

his  authority  over  the  whole  province,  and  when  Hugh  O'Flaherty 
of  West  Connaught  proved  troublesome  and  rebellious,  he  de- 
prived him  of  his  territory  (1207),  and  gave  it  to  his  own  son, 
Hugh  O'Connor.  But  it  was  difficult  to  keep  these  turbulent 
Connaught  chiefs  within  bounds,  and  the  same  year  a  quarrel 
arose,  and  a  battle  was  fought  between  MacDermot  and 
O'Mulroony,  and  when  King  John  came  to  Ireland  (12 10), 
Crovderg  went  to  his  court,  made  formal  submission  to  him, 
as  his  superior  lord,  on  which  occasion,  it  is  said,  that  he  sur- 
rendered two  thirds  ot  Connaught,  keeping  only  one-third 
for  himself,  and  for  this  portion  he  was  to  pay  one  hundred 
marks  yearly.*  At  a  later  date  (12 19),  an  attempt  was  made 
by  Richard  de  Burgho  to  obtain  a  grant  of  all  Connaught,  but 
it  does  not  appear  that  this  application  was  acceded  to,  and  when 
De  Lacy  of  Meath  crossed  the  Shannon  (1220),  and  sought 
to  effect  a  settlement  in  the  western  province,  he  was  met  by 
Cathal  Crovderg  and  vigorously  repelled,  and  the  English  castle 
erected  was  destroyed,  so  that  till  his  death  he  was  able  to  keep 
all  his  enemies  at  bay.  In  the  last  years  of  his  life,  he  retired 
to  the  abbey  of  Knockmoy,  in  Galway,  which  he  himself  had 
founded  (i  189),  to  commemorate  one  of  his  victories,  |  and  there, 
amid  the  prayers  and  piety  of  the  Cistercian  monks,  he  found 
rest  after  so  much  toil,  and  peace  after  so  many  battles.  His 
death  occurred  in  1224.  It  may  be  truthfully  declared  of  him, 
that  he  was  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  O'Connor  princes,  and  in 
contrasting  him  with  his  brother,  Roderick,  the  regret  must 
always  be  felt,  that  it  was  not  the  younger  brother  who  was 
Ardri  during  those  critical  times  when  the  Anglo-Normans 
first  came. 

*  Leland,  Vol.  I.,  p.  175.  This  statement  is  contradicted  and  I  think 
satisfactorily  disproved,  by  O'Conor  Don  {The  O' Conors  of  Connaught ^ 
pp.  85-87).  Crovderg  is  indeed  under  the  King's  protection,  yet  in  the 
State  Papers  he  is  recognised  as  King  of  Connaught,  and  a  record  is  in 
existence  (in  the  year  121 5)  by  vi^hich  King  John  grants  all  Connaught 
to  Crovderg,  saving  only  the  Castle  of  Athlone. 

t  It  w^as  called  the  Abbey  of  the  Hill  of  Victory  {Collis  Victorice)  and 
O'Conor  Don  states  that  the  victory  was  gained  over  the  English  {The 
0' Conors,  p.  92);  but  O'Donovan  {Four  Masters,  1224)  could  not  dis- 
cover when  the  battle  was  fought,  or  where,  or  against  whom. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

King  John  in  Ireland. 

Character  of  John — His  arrival  in  Ireland — State  of  the  country — The 
English  Colonists — De  Braose  and  the  De  Lacys — The  English  pos- 
sessions divided  into  counties — Introduction  of  English  Law — "  Modus 
tenendi    Parliamenta  " — John    leaves    Ireland. 

King  John  was  the  youngest  son  of  Henry  II.,  and  the  best  be- 
loved by  his  father.  Cold,  calculating,  suspicious,  hating 
many,  loving  few,  distrusting  all,  to  John  alone  Henry  was  ever 
kind  and  indulgent,  trusted  him  without  reserve,  and  lavished 
on  him  his  tenderest  care.  In  Ireland  (i  185),  John  had  brought 
the  power  of  England  to  the  verge  of  destruction  ;  it  was  his 
folly,  and  that  of  his  courtiers  that  was  to  blame,  yet  he  was 
readily  forgiven  ;  the  blame  was  cast  on  De  Lacy  and  others, 
and  blinded  by  partiality,  the  father  would  believe  everyone 
was  guilty    but  his  favourite  son.  The  disobedience  of  his 

children  cost  Henry  many  a  pang  ;  and  it  was  his  consolation 
to  think  that,  in  these  revolts,  John  had  no  share  ;  but  in  this 
he  was  destined  to  discover  his  error.  In  the  last  struggle  of 
his  life  with  the  French  King,  (1187),  his  son,  Richard,  was  on 
the  enemy's  side  and  so  also  were  some  of  the  Anglo-Norman 
barons.  Unable  to  make  headway  against  this  combination, 
he  had  to  agree  to  the  terms  of  his  adversary,  and  among  the 
conditions  of  peace  was  one  granting  immunity  for  their  acts 
to  the  rebellious  barons.  But  Henry  had  the  curiosity  to  know 
their  names,  and  having  procured  a  list,  he  was  horrified  to 
find  that  the  first  name  was  that  of  John.  It  was  his  crowning 
sorrow.  He  protested  he  did  not  wish  to  live  longer,  cursed 
the  day  on  which  he  was  born,  and  above  all  cursed  his  surviving 
sons.*  The  unnatural  son  was  also  the  unnatural  brother, 
and  while  Richard  was  absent  at  the  Crusades,  John  intrigued 
with  the  French  King  to  have  him  deposed,  and  when  Richard 


*  Lingard's  History  of  England^  Vol.  II.,  p.   118. 
Conquest^  Vol.  II.,  pp.  184-5. 


Thierry,  Norman 


KING   JOHN   IN   IRELAND.  233 

fell  into  the  hands  ot  the  German  Emperor  and  was  cast  into 
prison,  John  sought  to  bribe  the  Emperor,  so  that  Richard 
would  never  be  set  free.*  When  John  became  king  (1199), 
he  was  but  thirty-two  years  old,  but  he  was  old  in  vice  of  every 
kind.  To  remove  a  possible  rival,  he  murdered  his  nephew, 
to  gratify  his  lust  he  divorced  his  wife  and  took  Isabella  ot 
Angouleme,  a  younger  and  fairer  bride  ;  f  his  licentiousness 
was  as  great  as  an  Eastern  Sultan  ;  and  he  had  to  count  as  an 
enemy  many  a  powerful  baron,  whose  daughter,  or  sister,  or 
wife  he  had  dishonoured.  In  one  short  but  inglorious  campaign 
(1206),  he  lost  those  French  possessions,  which,  since  the  days 
of  Rollo,  had  belonged  to  his  ancestors,  and  not  content  with 
all  this,  he  provoked  a  quarrel  with  the  Pope  and  for  three  years 
had  all  England  under  interdict.  Such  was  John  and  such 
his  record  when  he  came  to  Ireland,  in   12 10. 

He  landed  at  Crook  near  Waterford,|  and  so  numerous 
was  the  army  that  accompanied  him,  that  it  was  conveyed 
in  seven  hundred  vessels.  A  quarter  of  a  century  had  passed 
since  he  was  last  in  Ireland,  many  changes  there  had  been  in 
the  interval,  but  it  could  not  be  said  that  the  affairs  of  Ireland, 
either  from  an  English  or  an  Irish  point  of  view,  were  even  yet 
in  a  satisfactory  condition.  Heedless  of  the  dangers  with  which 
they  were  menaced,  the  Irish  chiefs  still  continued  to  quarrel. 
The  death  of  De  Burgho  and  the  establishment  on  the  throne 
of  Connaught  without  a  rival  of  Cathal  Crovderg  did  not  bring 
continued  peace  to  the  western  province,  for  two  powerful  chiefs 
MacDermot  and  Mulrooney  went  to  war  (1206)  ;  and  the  same, 
year  O'Donnell  of  Tirconnell  plundered  two  northern  chiefs 
and  was  carrying  off  their  cattle,  when  he  was  attacked  and 
in  the  struggle  that  ensued  many  were  killed  and  drowned. 
The  very  next  year,  that  same  O'Donnell  ravaged  Fermanagh, 
but  was  attacked  and  slain  ;  and  in  a  contest  in  Connaught,  in 
which  the  MacDermots  and  O'Connors  and  the  O'Mulrooneys 
took  part,  when  O' Mulrooney  was  taken  prisoner  by  his  opponents 
his  eyes  were  put  out.  The  O'Donnells  and  the  O'Neills  were 
at  war  (1208),  the  MacCarthys  of  Desmond  and  the  O'Rorkes 
were  in  each  case  quarrelling  among  themselves,  and  so  also 
were  the  O'Briens  of  Thomond,  and  the  next  year  the  O'Rorkes 
of  Breffni  and  the  O'Mellaghlins  of  Meath  were  at  war.  ||  In 
these  contests  among  the  Irish,  the  English  were  always  ready 
to  take  sides,  their  object  being  to  weaken  and  ultimately  to 
destroy  both  the  combatants  ;  nor  had  they  any  scruple  about 

"^T-ingard's  History  of  England,  Vol.-  II. >  pps  122-3,    134-9. 

t  Ibid.,  p.    1 5 1-2. 

X  Four  Masters^  at  1209    (O'Donovan's  note); 

II  Four  Masters.      Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 


234  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

changing  sides,  nor  much  regard  for  the  binding  force  of 
treaties.  Yet,  though  they  made  some  progress,  their  progress 
was  slow.  The  Irish  had  already  acquired  skill  in  archery, 
they  avoided  big  battles  and  fighting  much  in  the  open,  resorted 
more  to  stratagems  and  surprises,  and  this  desultory  and  harassing 
warfare  they  found  most  effective  for  defence.*  But  while  it 
was  true  that  English  and  Irish  sometimes  acted  together  in 
their  wars  and  that  in  individual  cases  friendship  had  sprung 
up  between  them,  yet  the  relations  between  the  two  races  were 
not  cordial  and  as  time  passed  did  not  improve.  The  Irish  re- 
garded the  new  comers  as  plunderers  of  their  property  ;  the 
English  looked  upon  the  Irish  as  of  an  inferior  race,  despised  them 
for  their  weakness  and  their  divisions,  and  though  they  pro- 
fessed the  same  faith,  they  had  little  reverence  for  the  churches 
which  the  natives  had  built,  and  plundered  and  profaned  them 
so  often,  that  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh  went  specially  to 
England  (1206),  to  complain  of  their  conduct  to  King  John,  f 
In  Dublin  and  its  neighbourhood  the  same  antagonism  between 
the  races  existed,  even  in  a  more  intense  form  than  elsewhere 
and  on  one  occasion  at  least  it  had  tragic  results.  Peopled  from 
Bristol,  the  inhabitants  of  Dublin  had  got  a  charter  of  privileges 
from  Henry  II.  ;  these  privileges  were  confirmed  and  even  en- 
larged and  multiplied  by  John,  both  before  he  became  King 
and  afterwards  ;  and  all  the  privileges  and  rights  that  had  ever 
been  conceded  to  the  inhabitants  of  Bristol  were  conceded  to 
those  of  Dublin  and  enjoyed  by  them.  J  From  all  imposts, 
from  tolls  and  customs,  from  payment  for  right  of  way,  over 
road,  or  bridge,  or  carriage  way,  they  were  free,  and  this  through- 
out the  whole  extent  of  John's  dominions  ;  they  could  distrain 
the  property  of  their  debtors  in  Dublin,  but,  except  in  a  few 
cases,  were  not  liable  to  have  their  own  property  distrained  ; 
they  were  to  have  their  city  guilds  such  as  existed  at  Bristol  ; 
in  corn  and  wool  and  hides  they  were  given  a  monoply,  and 
traders  coming  to  their  city  could  purchase  these  articles  from 
none  but  citizens,  and  they  were  to  have  liberty  to  hold  an 
annual  fair  at  Donnybrook,  which  was  to  last  for  eight  days, 
and  to  which  the  merchants   of  the  city  were  bidden  to  repair.  || 

*  Cambrensis,  p.  312.  "  Although  they  might  at  first  have  been  easily- 
subjugated,  they  became,  in  process  of  time,  able  to  make  a  stout  resistance." 
Evidently  they  were  learning  from  experience — and  from  the  enemy, 
though  they  did  not  adopt  the  use  of  armour. 

t  Four  Masters. 

X   Gilbert's  Historic  and  Municipal  Documents,  pp.  49-62. 

II  It  is  impossible  to  say  whether,  at  this  early  period,  these  fairs  were 
characterised  by  those  disturbances  for  which  they  afterwards  became  so 
famous. 


KING   JOHN   IN   IRELAND.  235 

Surrounded  by  a  strong  wall,  which  King  John  ordered  to  be 
strengthened  still  more,  in  possession  of  many  privileges,  en- 
joying to  the  full  the  favour  of  their  sovereign,*  having  in  their 
midst  his  Viceroy,  and  sustained  and  defended  by  royal  troops, 
the  city  prospered  and  the  citizens  grew  rich.  But  all  this  only 
excited  the  more  the  envy  of  the  dispossessed  natives  and 
whetted  their  appetite  for  revenge.  Deprived  of  their  properties, 
they  had  been  driven  from  the  city  in  which  they  were  born 
and  going  to  their  countrymen  throughout  Dublin  and  Wicklow, 
they  told  their  mournful  tale.  The  O' Byrnes  and  the  O'Tooles 
were  warlike,  they  sympathised  with  the  wrongs  of  their  own 
countrymen,  they  meant  to  be  even  with  the  fat  burghers, 
hidden  behind  the  strong  walls  of  the  city,  and  all  they  wanted 
was  an  opportunity  for  vengeance.  The  opportunity  came 
on  Easter  Monday,  1209,  when  the  citizens  joyously  went  forth 
to  enjoy  a  holiday,  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  city  at  Cullenswood. 
In  the  midst  of  their  festivities,  the  O'Byrnes  and  the  O'Tooles 
swooped  down  upon  them,  the  holiday  makers  were  unable  to 
offer  much  resistance  to  this  unforeseen  and  unexpected  attack, 
and  three  hundred  of  them  were  killed.  The  survivors  made 
their  way  back  to  the  city  and  told  their  terrible  tale  ;  and  the 
day  which  commenced  in  joy  was  ended  in  sorrow  and  gloom. 
In  the  city  annals,  Easter  Monday  got  the  name  of  Black  Monday, 
and  the  bitterest  animosity  was  felt  and  long  continued  towards 
those  terrible  natives,  some  of  whom  dwelt  near  Dublin  itself, 
and  some  out  upon  the  Wicklow  hills,  f 

The  quarrels  between  the  Irish  chiefs  John  regarded  with 
equanimity,  but  his  mood  was  different,  when  it  was  the  colonists 
themselves  who  quarrelled,  and  in  the  years  that  immediately 
preceded  his  visit  their  conduct  was  as  bad  as  the  Irish  at  their 
worst.  A  certain  Meyler  de  Bermingham  attacked  the  English 
of  Limerick  (1206),  and  took  the  place  by  force  :  the  next  year 
Walter  de  Lacy  and  Meyler  FitzHenry  were  at  war,  FitzHenry 
was  besieged  in  his  castle  at  Ardnocker,  in  Westmeath,  for  five 
weeks  and  at  last  had  to  purchase  peace  by  the  sacrifice  of  part 
of  his  lands.J  The  insolence  of  the  De  Lacys  both  in  Leinster  and 
Munster  was  such,  that  a  confederacy  of  the  English  of  Munster 
was  formed  against  them,  headed  by  Jeffrey  de  Marais,  or  de 
Marisco,  and  a  battle  was  fought  at  Thurles  (1208),  in  which  the 
losses  of  Hugh  de  Lacy,  who  was  then  Viceroy,  were  heavy. |!  In 
these  contests  "  all  Leinster  and  Munster  were  brought  to  utter 

*  The  citizens  showed  their  gratitude  by  supplying  John's  "  man  '-' 
with  an  official  residence  (p.  56), 

j  Cox  :    Hibernia  Anglicana,  p.  49.      Ware's  Annals. 
X  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise . 
II  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.  66. 


236  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

destruction  "*  Such  was  the  state  of  the  English  colony  when 
John  arrived.  The  De  Lacys,  he  judged  to  be  guilty,  and,  there- 
fore, he  pardoned  Jeffrey  de  Marisco  for  his  recent  rebellion. 
Then  he  turned  his  attention  to  William  de  Braose,  a  powerful 
noble,  whose  possessions  were  extensive  both  in  England  and 
Normandy,  and  who  for  the  sum  of  5,000  marks  had  been 
granted  some  lands  in  Munster.  But  this  money  was  not  paid  ; 
when  his  children  were  demanded  as  hostages,  this  also  was 
refused  ;  and  the  wife  of  De  Braose  declared  that  her  children 
would  not  be  safe  in  the  hands  of  King  John.  Her  husband, 
on  John's  arrival  in  Ireland,  escaped  to  England  and  from 
England  he  escaped  to  France,  where  he  died,  his  wife  endeavoured 
to  make  terms  with  the  King  and  offered  him  50,000  marks 
for  a  free  pardon  for  herself  and  her  relatives.  The  offer  was 
accepted,  but  she  was  unable  to  carry  out  its  terms,  she  found 
she  had  only  twenty-four  marks  of  silver  in  her  possession,  and 
as  this  would  not  be  accepted,  De  Braose,  who  then  lived,  was 
proclaimed  an  outlaw,  and  his  wife  and  children  flung  into  a 
prison  at  Windsor  where  they  were  starved  to  death,  f  Against 
the  De  Lacys,  John's  irritation  was  little  less  than  against  De 
Braose.  On  his  arrival  in  Ireland,  or  shortly  after,  Cathal 
Crovderg  of  Connaught  and  O'Brien  of  Thomond  had  tendered 
him  their  submission  and  offered  their  services  it  required  ; 
their  aid  was  accepted  against  the  De  Lacys  ;  and  the  unusual 
spectacle  was  presented  of  two  Irish  princes  marching  with 
an  English  king  to  suppress  the  revolt  of  two  powerful  English 
lords.  From  Dublin  they  marched  through  Trim  and  Kells, 
and  Dundalk  and  Carlingford,  until  they  arrived  at  Down- 
patrick.  J  Both  the  De  Lacys  fled  before  them,  the  only  stand 
their  followers  made  was  at  Carrickfergus,  but  they  were  quickly 
overpowered  and  the  place  captured  by  King  John.  The  De 
Lacys  escaped  to  France,  and  in  the  monastery  of  St.  Tarin  near 
EvreuXjII  they  worked  as  brick-makers  and  gardeners,  until 
finally,  the  abbot  of  the  monastery  interceded  with  King  John, 
and  Walter  de  Lacy  (in  121 5),  was  restored  to  his  Irish  estates 
on  payment  of  a  fine,  and  a  little  later — in  the  reign  of  Henry  III. 
Hugh    de  Lacy  also  was  pardoned    and  returned  to  Ulster. 

The  submission  of  the  Irish  chiefs  left  John  no  enemy  to 
conquer  except  O'Neill  and  the  northern  princes  and  he  made 
no  attempt  to  conquer  them,  the  flight  of  De  Lacy  and  De  Braose 
left  him  no  rebels  to  chastise  ;  and,  freed  from  the    necessity  of 

[  *  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise . 
t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.  67-76,   506: 
X  Ibid.,  p.  72. 

II  Ibid.,  p.  78.  Book  of  Howth  {Carew  MSS.),  p.  122.  Cox,  Hibernia 
Anglicana,  p.  50. 


KING   JOHN   IN   IRELAND.  237 

making  war,  he  turned  his  attention  to  works  of  peace,  and 
took  measures  to  establish  English  institutions  in   those  parts 
ot  Ireland,  which  had  been  subdued  by  English  arms.     Almost 
all  Leinster  and  Munster  and  the  greater  part  of  Meath,  John 
believed  could  safely  be  brought  within  the  Pale  of  English  law, 
and  this  wide  extent  of  territory  he  divided  into  twelve  counties, 
Louth,    Dublin,    Kildare,    Meath,    Carlow,    Kilkenny,    Wexford, 
Waterford,  Cork,   Kerry,  Limerick  and  Tipperary.*     In   these 
counties    he    decreed  that  English  laws  and  customs  should  pre- 
vail,  English  courts  should  be  set  up,  English  justices  appointed, 
and  that  there  should  be  sheriffs  and  the  other  necessary  executive 
officers    to   carry   out   their   decrees.     The   distinction   of   being 
the  first  to  introduce  English  laws  into  Ireland  is  often  claimed 
for   King    John,   but   this   statement   requires   qualification,  for 
it  is    quite  certain  that  English  laws  and  customs    were  intro- 
duced by  his  father.     In  the  grants  made  to  De  Cogan  and  De 
Lacy,  for  instance,  Henry  II.  reserves  foi  himself  certain  knights' 
fees,  a  term  entirely  foreign  to  the  Irish,  or  Brehon  law,   and 
equally  peculiar  to    Feudalism,  as  it  existed  in   England.      To 
these  reservations  ot    knight's    fees  were    incident — wardships, 
marriages,  reliefs,  aids    for  making     the    King's  son  a  knight, 
and  for  the  marriage  of  his  daughter   and  "  how  could  the  King 
receive  these  incidents  if  the  laws  had  not  given  him  means  to 
come  by  them  which  ot  necessity  must  be  by  sheriffs,  officers 
ot  justice  and  other  ministers,  according  to  the  course  appointed  ;  " 
from  all  of  which  Ware  concludes  that  Henry  II.  granted  the 
laws   of   England  to   Ireland,   erected  courts   for   the  execution 
of  them,  and  for  bringing    in  the  profits  of  his  grants — other- 
wise his  reservations  would  be  idle  and  fruitless,  f     What  con- 
firms these  conclusions    is  that  there  is  still  on  record  a  statute 
of  the  time  of  Richard  III.  (1485),  which  has  reference  to  the 
electing  of  a  viceroy,  and  which  expressly  professes  to  be  nothing 
more  than  a   re-enactment  of  a  statute  of  the  time  ot  Henry  II., 
or  of  Henry  FitzEmpress,  as  he  is  called.      This  statute  I  enacts 
that   when — presumably   through   some  sudden   cause — Ireland 
should  be  void  of  a  Viceroy,  the  great  officers  of  state,  the  Lord 
Chancellor,   Lord   Treasurer  and   Chief    Justice  shall,   with   the 
assent  and  in  council  with  the  lords  spiritual    and  temporal  of 
Ireland,  proceed  to  elect  some  noble  to  be  governor,  and  who 
can  hold  parliaments  and  great  councils,l|  and  that  all  this  is  to  be 

*  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.  74. 

t  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  Il.j  p.  8oj 

X  Ibid.-,  p.  79. 

Besides  the  Parliament  there  were  the  Great  Councils  made  up  of 
the  great  men  of  the  country^  and  which  were  called  together  in  some 
sudden  emergency ;   the  Privy  Council  which  was  executive  and  advisory^ 


238  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

done,  "  according  to  the  tenor,  usage,  and  execution  ot  the  statute 
of  Henry  FitzEmpress,  and  as  is  specified  in  the  same  statute." 
It  is  further  claimed  for  Henry  H.,  that  he  ordered  an  Irish 
Parliament  to  be  convoked,  and  that  on  his  return  to  England 
(1172),  he  transmitted  to  Ireland  a  document  ("modus  tenendi 
Parliamenta  "),  in  which  he  lays  down  that  an  Irish  Parliament 
is  to  be  called  from  time  to  time,  how  it  was  to  be  summoned, 
who  were  to  be  its  members,  on  what  it  was  to  deliberate  and 
what  was  to  be  the  extent  of  its  powers.*  In  the  order  of  dignity 
it  was  to  consist  ot  six  degrees — the  first,  the  King,  or,  in  his 
absence,  the  Viceroy  ;  the  second,  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots, 
priors  and  clergy,  provided  they  held  land  equal  to  twenty 
knight's  fees  ;  +  the  third  were  the  proctors  of  the  clergy,  two 
chosen  as  the  representatives  of  each  diocese  ;  I  the  fourth  degree, 
earls,  barons  and  their  peers,  such  as  had  land  to  the  extent 
of  twenty  knight's  fees  ;  the  fifth,  were  the  knights  of  counties 
selected  by  the  county,  and  paid  by  the  county  which  selected 
them,  at  the  rate  of  a  half  mark  a  day  for  every  day  they  were 
in  attendance  in  parliament,  but  who  were  to  exercise  the 
franchise  in  their  selection  is  not  made  clear  ;  the  sixth  degree, 
were  those  selected  by  the  burgesses  and  citizens  of  the  towns. 
The  King,  if  present,  was  to  sit  in  the  middle  of  the  first  bench, 
having  at  his  right  hand,  the  Archbishops  of  Armagh  and  Cashel, 
and  on  his  left,  the  Archbishops  of  Dublin  and  Tuam,  and  in 
close  proximity  to  them  the  other  bishops,  abbots,  priors,  earls, 
barons  and  their  peers.  Lower  down,  at  the  King's  "  right  foot," 
were  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  the  Chief  Justice,  and  at  his  "  left 
foot,"  the  Treasurer  and  Barons  of  the  Excheqvier,  and  in  the 
last  place,  were  the  Proctors.  Where  the  Knights  of  the  counties 
and  boroughs  were  to  sit  is  not  made  clear  and  it  does  not  appear 
that  they  were  to  hold  their  sessions  separately,  that  is,  unless 
a  doubtful  or  dif^cult  matter  were  to  arise,  when  it  was  advised 
that  each  order  should  consider  it  separately.  || 

but  had  no  legislative  authority  ;  County  assemblies — resembling  a  modern 
Grand  Jury,  or  County  Council — and  lastly  Parleys  which  were  to  discuss 
terms  with  native  chiefs. 

The  Parliaments  in  the  beginning  were  seldom  held — only  one  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  II.  and  one  by  King  John  (Monk  Mason's  Irish  Parlia- 
ments, pp.    14-18). 

*  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  80,  et  scq. 

\  Equal  to  ;^400  a  year. 

J  It  was  pretended  in  the  i6th  Century  that  the  Proctors  had  only 
advisory  but  not  legislative  powers,  but  this  was  only  after  they  had 
stubbornly  refused  to  acknowledge  Henry  VIIl's  Spiritual  Supremacy, 
then  it  was  discovered  that  they  had  usurped  legislative  functions.  (Monk 
Mason,  pp.   16-22.) 

11  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II. j  pp.   82-3. 


KING   JOHN   IN   IRELAND.  239 

It  is  matter  of  doubt  and  controversy  whether  such  a 
document  ever  came  from  Henry,  but  so  great  a  man  as  Lord 
Coke  declared  that  it  was  genuine,  though  Prynne  and  Selden 
are  on  the  opposite  side  ;  neither  of  these  will  allow  it  any  greater 
antiquity  than  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  Their  arguments 
against  it  are  not  convincing  and  Ware  would  seem  to  incline 
to  the  opinion  that  Lord  Coke  was  right.*  But  whether  this 
document  was  ever  written,  or  not,  whether  any  such  parliament 
was  ever  held  in  Ireland  in  Henry's  reign,  and  if  so  what  laws  it 
passed  are  matters  impossible  to  determine  now.  What  is  much 
more  certain  is,  that  among  the  English  in  Ireland  at  that  time 
there  was  more  of  lawlessness  than  of  law.  These  adventurers 
had  come  to  Ireland  to  acquire  wealth  and  possessions,  and 
they  plundered  the  natives  without  scruple,  and  often  with 
impunity.  They  were  warriors  only,  and  had  the  warrior's 
contempt  for  the  delays  and  debates  and  arguments  incidental 
to  courts  of  law  ;  the  law  they  respected  and  feared  was  the  law 
of  the  stronger,  and,  when  they  quarrelled  among  themselves, 
they  settled  their  quarrels  by  the  short  and  stern  arbitrament 
of  the  sword. 

It  was  said  that  King  John  brought  over  from  England 
some  experienced  lawyers,  and  that  under  their  direction  the 
whole  machinery  of  government  was  established.  In  the 
counties  recently  formed,  courts  were  set  up,  judges  appointed 
and  sheriffs  and  the  other  ofHcers  necessary  to  carry  out  the 
Court's  decrees.  Over  all  was  the  Viceroy,  sometimes  called 
justiciary,  sometimes  Lord  Deputy,  sometimes  Lord  Lieutenant 
and  with  him,  as  a  Council,  but  subordinate  to  him,  were  the 
Lord  Chancellor  and  the  Lord  Treasurer.  The  Lord  Chancellor 
had  the  custody  of  the  great  seal  f  and  in  power  and  dignity 
was  first  and  greatest  of  the  judges.  The  Lord  Treasurer  was 
at  the  head  of  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  and  had  charge  of  the 
King's  revenues,  and  fines  and  debts  accruing  to  the  King 
passed  through  his  hands.  The  Parliaments  held  and  the  enact- 
ments passed  from  1172  to  13 10  we  do  not  know,  as  the  records 
are  lost,  but  English  statutes  were  of  no  avail    in  Ireland  until 

*  Harris's  Ware  Yo\.  II.,  pp.  83-4.  This  also  is  the  opinion  of  Molyneux, 
(Case  Stated,  pp.  31,  et  seq  ;)  he  is  quite  satisfied  if  there  was  no  Parlia- 
ment in  Ireland  in  Henry  ll.'s  time  there  was  shortly  after  (p.  36), 
Matt.  Paris  states  positively  that  Henry  held  one  at  Lismore  (1171) 
and  that  the  English  laws  were  gratefully  accepted  there.  This  can 
hardly  be  true  of  the  Irish  who  did  not  know  these  laws,  nor  understand 
them  ;    but  of  course  it  would  be  true  of  the  English  settlers. 

t  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  98-9.  The  Lord  Chancellor  was  appointed 
sometimes  for  life,  sometimes  during  good  behaviour,  but  more  frequently 
during  the  King's  pleasure. 


24©  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

they  were  confirmed  by  the  Irish  Parliament,  nor  had  these 
enactments — even  of  an  Irish  Parliament — any  effect,  except 
in  those  parts  of  Ireland  where  English  power  prevailed. 

The  rule  of  Solon  or  Justinian  is  not  what  might  be  expected 
from  a  man  with  the  base  character  of  King  John.  He  may 
be  getting  credit  from  historians  for  having  done  more  in  Ireland 
than  he  actually  did,  but  at  least  this  can  be  said  that  his  conduct 
in  Ireland,  during  his  last  visit,  favourably  contrasts  with  his 
record  on  the  other  side  of    St.  George's    Channel. 


LondoTu  Ecqan  PomL  .  TrouJi 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Long-Continued    Turmoil. 

The  English  invade  Tirowen — The  Colonists  quarrel — De  Lacy  and  Marshall 
— Wars  in  Connaught  between  the  O'Connors — The  English  inter- 
vene— Sufferings  of  the  Connaught  people — Richard  de  Burgho — 
Felim  O'Connor,  King  of  Connaught  visits  Henry  III. — Maurice 
Fitzgerald — Condition  of  Desmond  and  Thomond — The  O'Neills 
and  O'Donnells  quarrel — Their  territory  invaded  by  the  English — 
The  fate  of  Richard  Marshall — Temporary  and  partial  union  among 
the  Irish — Battle  of  Downpatrick — Discord  in  Connaught — Fitzgerald 
defeated  in  Desmond  by  MacCarthy — O'Brien  of  Thomond  and  De 
Clare — State  of  Tirowen  and  Tirconnell — and  of  Leinster — Quarrels 
among  the  Anglo-Irish  lords. 

Although  no  great  event  occurred  for  a  few  years  after  the 
departure  of  King  John,  yet,  these  years  were  not  years  of  un- 
broken calm,  and  the  first  sound  of  battle  came  from  the  English 
themselves.  The  Viceroy  was  John  de  Grey,  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
a  man  whom  John  had  endeavoured  to  have  appointed  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  for  whose  sake  he  had  defied  the  Pope, 
and  in  punishment  had  his  dominions  placed  under  interdict.* 
De  Grey  had  little  taste  for  the  spiritual  duties  of  the  episcopal 
ofifice,  he  was  more  at  home  in  dealing  with  affairs  of  state,  or 
on  the  battle-field,  and  wishing  to  do  something  agreeable  to 
his  royal  master,  and  to  signalise  his  tenure  of  office  as  Viceroy 
by  some  notable  achievement,  he  marched  north  at  the  head  of 
an  army  (121 1),  erected  a  strong  castle  at  Clones,  and  from 
this  entered  the  land  of  the  O'Neills,  hoping  to  conquer  that  land 
which  as  yet  refused  to  submit  to  England.  His  success  was 
not  in  keeping  with  his  expectations  ;  he  was  defeated  by  O'Neill 
with  heavy  loss  and  the  next  year  O'Neill  marched  south  and 
destroyed  the  English  castle  at  Clones,  and  following  up  this 
success,   he   defeated    the   English   at   Carlingford.  f    The   same 

*  Lingard's  History  of  England ^  Vol.  II.,-  pp.  156-7; 
■j"  Four  Masters. 


242  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

year,  O'Mellaghlin  of  Meath  defeated  them,  but  in  the  next  year 
his  good  fortune  deserted  him.  He  was  defeated  and  the  English 
were  free  to  build,  or  rather  rebuild,  the  castles  of  Kinnitty, 
Birr  and  Durrow,*  as  well  as  a  castle  at  Athlone.  The  events 
which  fill  up  the  next  few  years  are  unimportant,  but  in  1220, 
wars  and  battles  again  began  and  on  that  occasion  it  was  the 
English  themselves  who  quarrelled.  When  the  De  Lacy's 
fled  from  Ireland,  part  of  Walter  de  Lacy's  lands  of  Meath  was 
given  to  William  Marshall,  Earl  of  Pembroke,!  and  after  De  Lacy's 
return  to  Ireland  ^1213),  some  of  these  lands  were  still  retained. 
De  Lacy  considered  himself  an  injured  man,  and  only  waited 
for  a  favourable  opportunity  to  attack  his  rival  and  recover 
those  lands,  which  he  still  deemed  his  own  ;  and  as  his  lands  ad- 
joined those  of  Marshall,  a  dispute  about  boundaries  might 
easily  arise  and  might  be  as  easily  converted  into  a  cause  of 
war.  Marshall  was  able  to  enlist  the  support  of  the  Viceroy, 
but  Walter  de  Lacy  had  the  assistance  of  his  brother  Hugh  ; 
they  made  in  addition  an  alliance  with  O'Neill  of  Tirowen  ; 
and  the  strength  of  this  combination  was  formidable.  They 
first  attacked  the  English  at  Coleraine  and  destroyed  the  castle 
erected  there  ;  then  they  marched  south,  and  in  Meath  and, 
Leinster  committed  great  havoc,  and  finally  they  met  the  com- 
bined forces  of  Marshall  and  the  Viceroy  at  Dundalk.  The  latter 
had  no  less  than  twenty-four  battalions  under  his  command, 
yet  they  dreaded  their  opponents  strength,  and  without  giving 
them  battle  agreed  to  terms,  in  which  De  Lacy  and  O'Neill 
suffered  no  punishment  and  no  diminution  of  their  power  ; 
on  the  contrary  O'Neill  got  his  own  demands.  I 

Many  as  were  the  evils  caused  by  these  quarrels,  they  were 
light  compared  to  what  ills  came  upon  the  province  of  Connaught, 
While  Crovderg  lived  there  was  peace,  for  no  rival,  either  native 
or  English,  cared  to  question  his  supremacy.  But  when  he  died 
(1224),  the  era  of  peace  was  over,  and  a  long  and  melancholy 
era  of  war  and  misery  supervened.  The  dead  prince  had  attained 
his  position  only  after  many  and  desperate  struggles,  and  after 
his  death  these  struggles  were  renewed,  and  in  a  more  aggravated 
form.  His  son,  Hugh,  claimed  the  position  held  by  his  father  ; 
his  cousins — Hugh  and  Turlogh,  sons  of  Roderick — contested 
his  claim  and  were  able  to    obtain  the  assistance  of  O'Neill  of 


*  Annals  of  Clonniacnoise. 

t  William  Marshall  was  son  of  William  Marshall  and  Isabel,  daughter 
of  Strongbow  and  Eva  MacMurrough  :  as  the  heir  of  Strongbow  he  was 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  as  the  heir  of  Eva  he  was  heir  to  Leinster,  and  therefore 
had  enormous  possessions.     (Leland,  Vol.  I.,  p.  206.) 

X  Four  Masters,   1221. 


LONG-CONTINUED   TURMOIL.  243 

Tirowen,  as  well  as  two  of  the  ablest  of  the  Connaught  chieftains, 
MacGeraghty  of    Roscommon   and   Hugh   O'Flaherty  of  West 
Connaught.     Entering  Connaught,  O'Neill  marched  by  Athlone, 
until  he  arrived  near  Tulsk,  in  Roscommon,  and  on  the  old  cairn 
of  stones   and   earth   in   that   neighbourhood,*    where   for   ages 
the  Connaught  Kings  had  been  inaugurated,  Turlogh  O'Connor 
Wcis  proclaimed  King.     His  cousin,  Hugh,  could  make  no  effective 
resistance,     for   all    the   Connaught   Chieftains   had   abandoned 
him,  except   MacDermot  and   his  help   was   insufficient    where 
so  many  enemies  had  to  be  overcome.      In  the  belief  that  Turlogh 
was  safe  in  his  new  position,  O'Neill  returned  to  Tirowen,  leaving 
but  a  few  of  his  soldiers  in  Connaught,  to  aid  the  newly  crowned 
King.     But  Hugh  O'Connor  had  inherited  his  fathers  stubborn 
will,  and  had  no  intention  of  quietly  acquiescing  in  his  dethrone- 
ment, nor  did  he  care  from  what  quarter  he  procured  assistance, 
provided   only   he   could   humiliate   his   rival     and     attain    pre- 
eminence  himself.      With   that  object   in   view,   he   repaired   to 
the  English  headquarters  and  begged  their  assistance,  and  this 
was   just   what    the    English   desired.     Some   years   before    this 
date  (12 19),  Richard  de  Burgho    had  offered,  if  the  whole  of 
Connaught  were  granted  to  him,  he  would  pay  into  the   English 
Exchequer   3,000  marks  at  once  and  an   annual    rent  of   200 
marks  in  addition,  or  that  the  King  of  Connaught  should  be 
left   part  ot  the  province  during  his  life  and  that,  at  his  death, 
the  whole  province  should  be  given  to  De  Burgho,  and  for  this 
he  offered  the  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds.      Neither  of  these 
oflers   was  accepted  at  that  date,  for  in  the  next  year,  Cathal 
Crovderg   was    granted    the    King   ot    England's    protection    in 
all  his  lands  and  possessions,  for  the  space  of    five  years.     But 
when  Cathal  died,  De  Burgho's  offer,  or  perhaps  a  larger  one, 
was  renewed   and  accepted  and  by   letter  (1226),  Henry  HI.  had 
directed     his     Viceroy — De     Marisco — to     take     possession     of 
Connaught    for    Richard    de    Burgho.f       In    this   document   it 
is   easy  to    trace  the  hand  of  Hubert  de  Burgho,  who  was  then 
Justiciary    of    England,    who    had    therefore    enormous    power, 
and  was  using  it  in  favour  of  his  relative  in  Ireland. 

Hugh  O'Connor  found  the  Viceroy,  De  Marisco,  at  Athlone. 
He  had  been  an  interested  spectator  of  the  quarrels  in  Connaught, 
believing  it  better    to  let  the  O'Connors  fight  it  out,  and  then 

*  It  was  situated  at  Carnfree,  and  the  ceremony  of  installation  was 
elaborate.  It  was  attended  by  many  bishops  and  by  the  principal  chiefs 
or  Sub-Kings  of  Connaught.  O'Mulconry  gave  the  new  king  his  wand^ 
Mageraghty  received  gifts  of  cattle  and  sheep  from  him^  O'Flanagan 
was  his  High  Steward,  O'Flaherty  and  O'Malley  had  command  of  the 
fleet,  O'Kelly  Chief  Treasurer,  &c.     {The  O' Conors,  pp.  83-4  ~~ 

\   The  0' Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.  88  et  95. 


244  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  the  time  for  the  English  to  intervene,  when  both  parties 
were  exhausted  in  the  struggle.  But  he  was  reluctant  that 
any  side  should  triumph,  at  least  without  his  aid,  and  after 
hearing  Hugh  O'Connor's  story  he  determined  to  aid  him,fand 
with  his  own  forces  and  those  of  O'Mellaghlin  of  Meath,  he 
crossed  the  Shannon.  Simultaneously  with  this,  Hugh  O'Connor 
had  got  the  assistance  of  his  uncle,  Donagh  Carbry  O'Brien  of 
Thomond,  who  had  entered  Connaught  from  the  South,  and 
the  unfortunate  province  was  at  the  same  time  wasted  and 
spoiled  by  two  different  armies  converging  upon  Roscommon. 
Against  such  forces  Turlogh  O'Connor  and  his  allies  were  power- 
less, and,  retreating  westwards  from  Roscommon,  they  arrived 
at  Kilkelly,  in  Mayo.  The  most  inexperienced  of  their  soldiers 
were  placed  in  front  to  guard  the  non-combatants  and  to  drive 
the  cattle  before  them,  while  MacGeraghty  and  Turlogh  and  the 
more  seasoned  veterans  of  Tirowen  were  left  to  guard  the  rere, 
for  the  English  were  in  pursuit  and  were  near  at  hand.  The 
pursuers  hoped  to  surround  the  retreating  army,  but  the  retreat 
was  conducted  with  ability  and  Turlogh  and  his  men  escaped 
by  Swinford  to  the  County  of  Sligo,  without  any  serious  loss. 
Some  of  the  Roscommon  clans,  who  sided  with  Turlogh,  had 
fled  on  the  approach  of  the  English  and  arrived  at  Attymas, 
on  the  borders  of  Sligo,  and  instead  of  pursuing  Turlogh's  army 
Hugh  O'Connor  proposed  that  these  helpless  fugitives  be  attacked. 
His  allies  agreed  and  the  miserable  people,  in  their  haste  to  escape, 
endeavoured  to  cross  the  river  Bellacong,  a  tributory  of  the  Moy. 
The  current  was  swift  and  strong,  numbers  were  drowned, 
and  the  fishermen  who  had  their  nets  set  in  the  river,  found 
them  on  the  following  day  filled  with  the  bodies  of  infants,  who 
had  lost  their  lives  in  that  fatal  passage.*  Little  less  miserable 
was  the  fate  of  the  remaining  portion  of  the  fugitives,  who 
escaped  northwards  to  Tirawley,  where  they  were  set  upon  by 
0'Dowda,t  the  chief  of  that  territory,  robbed  of  their  cattle 
and  left  utterly  destitute. 

Hugh  O'Connor  and  his  allies,  retracing  their  steps,  set 
up  their  headquarters  at  Kilmaine,  in  Mayo,  and  thither 
O'Flaherty  and  Manus  O'Connor  were  despatched  on  behalf 
of  Turlogh,  with  the  object  of  arriving  at  some  agreement, 
knowing  well  it  was  useless  to  continue  the  struggle.  O'Flaherty 
was  pardoned,  but  only  on  condition  that  he  deserted  his  present 
allies  and  even  opposed  them,  and,  besides,  he  was  compelled 


*  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  at   1225.- 

I  O'Dowda  was  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Hy  Fiacra  clan  and  dwelt  in 
the  modern  barony  of  Tirawley,  west  of  Killala  Bay  and  the  River  Moy^ 
in  Mayo;     ^Book  of  Rights^  pp.  108-9); 


LONG-CONTINUED   TURMOIL.  245 

to  surrender  the  islands  of  Lough  Corrib  to  the  English, 
as  well  as  the  vessels  he  had  on  the  lake.  Necessity  had  com- 
pelled him  to  accept  these  hard  conditions,  which  struck  so 
fatal  a  blow  at  his  power,  but  it  appears  he  had  no  intention 
of  carrying  out  what  he  had  stipulated,  and  the  English  had 
only  left  the  province,  when  he  revolted  to  the  son  of  Roderick, 
and  again  the  English  forces  were  recalled  by  Hugh  O'Connor. 
A  party  of  them  who  had  encamped  at  Ardrahan,  in  Galway, 
were  set  upon  by  O'Flaherty  and  suffered  severely,  but  again 
the  English  prevailed,  Hugh  O'Connor  was  recognised  king,  and 
O'Flaherty  had  to  renew  his  submission  and  to  give  hostages 
tor  his  future  good  behaviour.  Champion  of  a  losing  cause, 
Turlogh  O'Connor  was  abandoned  by  the  Connaught  chiefs, 
who  had  hitherto  fought  on  his  side,  and  again  both  himself 
and  his  brother  sought  for  refuge  in  Tirowen.  The  English 
who  had  placed  Hugh  on  the  throne  insisted  on  being  paid  by 
their  ally,  and  compelled  him  to  give  them  hostages  until  he 
was  in  possession  of  sufficient  money  to  gratify  their  demands. 
After  this  period  of  slaughter  and  desolation  peace  was  restored. 
The  English  in  their  march  through  Roscommon  and  Mayo 
had  plundered  everything,  and  left  ruin  and  misery  in  their 
track  ;  the  steps  of  Donogh  O'Brien,  in  Galway,  on  his  march 
from  Thomond,  were  similarly  marked,  and  there  was  hardly 
a  church  or  territory  in  Connaught  that  had  not  been  plundered 
and  laid  waste.  So  many  of  the  men  had  fallen  in  the  war, 
that  the  gathering  in  of  the  harvest  could  not  be  attended  to, 
and  the  winter  passed  and  the  corn  was  still  uncut,  nor  was  it 
cut,  until  St.  Bridget's  Day  (ist  February),  of  the  next  year 
(1226),  when  the  crops  were  being  put  down  for  the  succeeding 
harvest.  Without  corn  or  cattle,  the  people  were  in  the  last 
extremity  of  distress  and  large  numbers  perished  of  hunger  ; 
in  the  wake  of  famine,  the  horrid  spectre  of  famine  fever  appeared, 
and  Connaught  seemed  as  a  land  accursed,  a  land  of  mourning 
and  lamentation  and  woe.* 

It  was  about  this  date  that  Richard  de  Burgho  assumed  the 
title  of  Lord  of  Connaught.  That  he  should  be  what  his  title 
indicated  seemed  to  be  a  matter  of  concern  to  Henry  ITL,  or 
rather  to  his  minister  ;  it  would  be  an  extension  of  English  power 
and  such  an  extension  seemed  imminent.  The  English  had 
already  acquired  settlements  in  Connaught,  they  had  built  strong 
castles  on  Lough  Corrib,  they  were  thus  enabled  to  exercise  an 
influence  on  its  local  affairs,  and,  best  of  all,  the  King  of  Connaught 
was  their  creature  ;  it  was  they  who  placed  him  on  the  throne  and, 
as  they  had  put  him  up,  they  could  as  easily  pull  him    down. 

*  Annals  of  Loch  Ce.      Four  Masters: 


246  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

And  with  this  object  in  view,  he  was  invited  to  a  conterence  at 
Dublin  (1227),  which  was  attended  by  the  Viceroy  (De  Marisco), 
William  Marshall  and  other  English  lords.  In  the  preceding  year, 
Hugh  O'Connor  had  been  directed  by  royal  mandate  to  the 
Viceroy  to  deliver  up  the  land  of  Connaught  which  he  and  his 
father  had  forfeited  ;  he  was  directed,  later  on,  to  deliver 
it  to  Richard  de  Burgho,  failing  this,  he  was  invited  to  a  conference 
at  Athlone  and  promised  safe-conduct,  and  as  he  refused  this 
invitation  also,  he  was  again  invited  in  the  next  year  to  Dublin 
and  was  promised  safe-conduct.  This  last  invitation  he  accepted, 
but  he  soon  found  that  treachery  was  intended  ;  the  Viceroy 
attempted  to  make  him  prisoner,  but  William  Marshall  would 
be  no  party  to  such  treachery,  and  rescued  Hugh  O'Connor 
and  brought  him  back  safely  to  Connaught.*  In  revenge  for 
his  treatment  at  Dublin,  the  Connaught  king  attacked  the 
English  at  Athlone,  burned  their  settlements  there  and  took 
young  De  Marisco,  son  of  the  Viceroy,  prisoner.  His  own  son 
and  daughter  were  already  in  the  Viceroy's  hands  as  hostages, 
or  rather  as  prisoners,  and,  in  exchange  for  the  Viceroy's  son, 
they  were  allowed  to  go  free.  Dissatisfied  with  Hugh  O'Connor, 
the  English  took  the  sons  of  Roderick  into  favour.  Richard 
de  Burgho  overran  one  part  of  Connaught,  De  Marisco  marched 
to  Roscommon  from  Athlone,  and  built  a  strong  castle  at 
Rindown,  on  the  shores  of  Lough  Ree,  and  Hugh  O'Connor, 
unable  to  maintain  his  position,  fled  from  Connaught  to  Tir- 
connell.  The  next  year  (1228)  he  returned  to  claim  his  throne, 
but  at  De  Marisco's  castle,  whither  he  had  gone  for  a  friendly 
conference,  he  was  treacherously  assassinated  f  and  the  sons  of 
Roderick  possessed  the  throne  of  Connaught  without  a  rival. 
But  there  were  two  of  these  princes  ;  in  the  manner  of  their 
family,  no  two  of  them  could  agree  ;  neither  would  yield  to  the 
other  ;  and  Connaught  was  harassed  and  plundered  between 
them.  In  the  end,  Hugh  succeeded,  as  he  had  the  support  of 
the  greater  number  of  the  native  chiefs,  and  also  of  the  English 
In  the  hands  of  these  latter  he  was  but  a  puppet  and,  two  years 
later,  when  he  showed  some  symptoms  of  independence,  his 
territories  were  overrun  by  Richard  de  Burgho,  he  was  expelled 
from  Connaught  and  his  cousin,  Felim,  son  of  Cahal  Crovderg, 
was  adopted  by  the  English  and  placed  on  the  vacant  throne. 
Either  the  affection  of  De  Burgho  was  fitful  and  capricious,  or 
the  new  king  was  not  sufTficiently  servile,  but,  whatever  the 
cause,  Felim  was  seized  upon  by  De  Burgho  (1231),  and  im- 

*  The  0' Conors,  pp.  95-96.     Four  Masters  and  An.  of  Loch  Ce  (1227). 
f  Annals  of  Clonniacnoise.    That  De  Marisco  did  not  approve  of  the  act 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  executed  the  murderer,  an  Englishman. 


LONG-CONTINUED   TURMOIL.  247 

prisoned,  and  his  rival  and  cousin  again  became  king.  But 
the  next  year  Felim  was  liberated,  the  struggle  for  supremacy 
was  renewed,  the  native  chiefs  rallied  to  Felim's  side  in  great 
strength,  and  though  his  rival  had  the  aid  of  some  English,  yet 
he  was  defeated  and  slain  (1233),  and  Felim  was  once  more  king.* 
That  same  year,  the  son  of  Hugh  de  Lacy — William — invaded 
Breffni,  but  was  defeated  and  slain  by  Cahal  O'Reilly  ;  and 
Felim  O'Connor,  flushed  with  his  recent  triumph,  attacked  and 
destroyed  the  English  castles  recently  erected  in  Connaught, 
Gal  way,  Donamon,  Hen's  Castle  in  Lough  Corrib,  and  Hag's 
Castle  in  Lough  Mask. 

For  a  year  or  two  the  O'Connors  ceased  to  quarrel,  but 
apparently  Richard  de  Burgho  determined  that  Connaught 
should  not  be  at  peace.  He  had  already  overcome  the  O'Flahertys, 
dispossessed  them  of  their  territory  east  of  Lough  Corrib  and 
driven  them  across  to  lar  Connaught,  to  that  bleak  and  desolate 
region,  which  extends  westward  of  Lough  Corrib  and  Lough 
Mask  and  takes  in  the  whole  coast  line  from  Galway  to  Clifden  ;  f 
he  had  taken  possession  of  the  town  of  Galway, J  where  he  erected 
and  fortified  a  strong  castle,  and  from  this  as  his  headquarters 
he  plundered  Felim  O'Connor's  territoiy  in  1235,  and  again,  in 
the  following  year.  The  first  of  these  years  he  was  aided  by  the 
Viceroy,  Maurice  FitzGerald  and  De  Lacy,  Earl  of  Meath,  and 
with  these  forces  he  crossed  the  Shannon,  at  Athlone,  burned 
Roscommon  and  the  churches  of  Elphin  and  Boyle,  and  in  that 
part  of  the  province  spread  ruin  and  desolation.  They  next 
proceeded  to  Munster,  at  the  instigation  of  O'Heyne,  a  Galway 
chief,  who  had  a  grudge  against  Donogh  O'Brien  of  Thomond 
and  wished  to  be  revenged  on  him.  O'Brien  was  taken  un- 
prepared, but  Felim  O'Connor,  hearing  of  his  plight,  went  to 

*  Four  Masters.  Lock  Ce.  The  defeated  prince  was  the  last  descendant 
of  Roderick  O'Connor,  who  could  claim  to  be  King  of  Connaught.  {The 
O' Conors,  p.    100.) 

t  From  the  fifth  century  to  the  thirteenth,  the  inheritance  of  the 
O'Flahertys  was  the  present  barony  of  Clare  in  the  County  Galway. 
Dispossessed  of  this  by  De  Burgho,  they  in  turn  seized  the  district  west 
of  Lough  Corrib,  and  dispossessed  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  those  regions. 
(O' Flaherty's  lar  Connaught,  p.   3.) 

\  Hardiman's //ij-^ory  (9/6^a/2t;ay,  pp.  47-8.  Galway  was  fortified  (i  170) 
and  held  by  the  O'Flahertys.  It  was  vigorously  besieged  by  Richard  de 
Burgho  (1230),  but  the  attack  was  unsuccessful.  Two  years  later;  the  attack 
was  renewed  and  the  place  captured  from  the  O'Flahertys  by  De  Burgho^ 
who  enlarged  and  strengthened  the  castle.  The  place  was  again  attacked 
and  captured  by  Felim  O'Connor  (1233),  and  the  fortifications  erected 
by  De  Burgho  destroyed,  but  that  persevering  noble  soon  after  recaptured 
it  and  re-fortified  it,  and  from  that  date  it  was  his  headquarters  and  his 
reatest  stronghold  in  Connaught. 


248  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

his  assistance  and  gave  battle  to  the  English,  in  which,  however, 
the  Irish  were  defeated  with  heavy  loss.  This  action  of  Felim 
brought  the  vengeance  of  the  English  on  his  unhappy  kingdom  ; 
they  turned  back  to  lay  it  waste  and,  feeling  unable  to  resist 
them,  he  gathered  together  his  cattle  and  provisions  and  with  his 
immediate  friends  fled  from  Connaught  to  Tirconnell,  leaving 
the  whole  province  undefended  and  large  part  of  it  waste. 
Baulked  in  his  purpose  of  plundering  Felim  O'Connor,  De  Burgho 
turned  westward  along  the  shores  of  Lough  Corrib  to  attack 
Felim's  relative,  Manus  O'Connor.  He  was  joined  by  O'Heyne* 
and  O'Flaherty  and  to  facilitate  his  attack  on  their  countrymen, 
these  two  chiefs  carried  his  boats  by  land  fiom  Lough  Corrib  to 
Killery  Harbour,  a  distance  of  seven  miles.  O'Connor's  people 
took  shelter  in  the  islands  of  Clew  Bay,  but  De  Burgho  attacked 
them  there,  took  away  their  cattle,  killed  the  people,  or  took 
them  prisoners,  and  the  islands  along  the  coast,  from  Clew  Bay 
to  Achil,  were,  with  scarce  an  exception,  the  scenes  of  robbery 
and  murder.  Loaded  with  plunder,  De  Burgho  turned  back  to 
Ballintubber,  thence  north-east  to  Ballysodare,  in  Sligo,  which 
he  also  plundered,  and  finally,  by  the  aid  of  some  machines  he 
had  constructed  for  casting  stones,  he  was  able  to  capture  the 
strong  fortress  of  Loch  Ce,  near  Boyle.  When  he  returned  to 
Galway,  he  left  the  people  of  Connaught  "  without  food,  raiment, 
or  cattle,"  and,  to  complete  the  misery  of  the  province,  the  Irish 
themselves  were  plundering  and  destroying  each  other.  After 
this,  peace  was  made  with  Felim  O'Connor,  but  the  next  year, 
at  a  conference  with  the  Viceroy  at  Athlone,  treachery  was 
planned  against  him  ;  he  was  forewarned  by  some  friend  and 
succeeded  in  making  his  escape  to  Tirconnell. f  The  English  set 
up  one  Brian  O'Connor  as  king,  but  Felim  returned  from  the 
north,  the  Connaught  chiefs  rallied  to  his  side  and  he  defeated 
and  deposed  the  English-made  king.  The  same  year  (1236), 
De  Burgho  again  swept  through  Connaught,  passing  through 
Tuam,  Mayo  and  Balla,  and  leaving  Connaught  "  without  peace 
or  tranquility  or  without  food  in  any  territory."  J  Nor  were 
the  ills  of  the  province  yet  over,  for  Felim's  right  to  the  throne 
was  again  challenged  by  the  sons  of  Roderick  O'Connor. 

During  these  years  the  position  of  Felim  O'Connor  was  one 
of  enormous  dif^culty.  Over  the  rivals  of  his  own  name  and 
family  he  had  asserted  his  superiority  by  force  of  arms,  but  the 
English  were  not  so  easily  dealt  with.  They  had  already  effected 
many  settlements  in  the  province,  and  in  extent  of  territory  and 

*  O'Flaherty's  lar  Connaught,  pp.  50-51.     O'Heyne's  territory  corres 
ponded  with  the  present  barony  of  Kiltartan  in  Galway. 
t  Four  Masters.     Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 
X  Annals  of  Lock  Ce  (1236).      Four  Masters. 


LONG-CONTINUED   TURMOIL.  249 

power  De  Burgho  far  exceeded  even  the  chief  of  the  O'Connors. 
To  Felim  little  was  left  but  a  few  baronies  round  Roscommon, 
and  a  nominal  sovereignty  over  the  native  chiefs,  and  for  this 
shrunken  territory  and  diminished  power  he  had  done  homage 
to  the  English  King,  or  rather  to  his  representative,  and  he 
was  paying  an  annual  tribute.  There  was  no  suggestion  that 
he  did  not  pay  this  tribute  regularly,  or  that  he  had  been  unfaith- 
ful to  any  of  his  engagements.  Yet  the  Viceroy  had  more  than 
once  favoured  his  rivals  and  employed  English  troops  against  him, 
acting  under  the  King  of  England's  authority  and  in  his  name 
and  De  Burgho  kept  his  territory  in  perpetual  unrest,  had  robbed 
and  plundered  his  friends,  desolated  his  lands,  pillaged  his  churches 
and  chased  himself,  an  exile  and  an  outlaw,  from  the  land  and 
from  the  throne  of  his  fathers.  To  appeal  to  the  Viceroy — 
Maurice  Fitzgerald — was  useless,  for  he  had  taken  sides  with 
De  Burgho  ;  the  only  resource  left  was  to  appeal  in  person  to 
the  English  King,  and  Felim  for  this  purpose  went  to  England. 
He  was  favourably  received  by  Henry  HI.  (1240)  to  whom  he 
detailed  all  that  he  had  suffered,  laying  all  the  blame  on  De  Burgho, 
a  safe  thing  to  do  then,  for  De  Buigho's  great  relative — Hubert, 
Earl  of  Kent — had  lost  the  King's  favour.  Impressed  by  what 
he  had  heard,  Henry  sent  peremptory  orders  to  his  Viceroy, 
Fitzgerald,  "  to  pluck  up  by  the  root  that  fruitless  sycamore, 
De  Burgho,  whom  the  Earl  of  Kent  in  the  insolence  of  his  power 
had  planted  in  these  parts,  nor  suffer  it  to  bud  forth  any 
longer."*  After  that  date  De  Burgho  gave  Felim  no  more  trouble, 
and  two  years  later  (1243)  he  died.  But  Maurice  Fitzgerald 
still  kept  Connaught  disturbed.  He  plundered  two  Connaught 
chiefs,  MacDermott  and  O'Flynn  (1241);  the  next  year,  with 
Felim  O'Connor  as  his  ally  he  invaded  Tirconnell,  and  two  )^ears 
later  he  erected  a  strong  fortress  at  Sligo.  Both  Felim  and 
Fitzgerald  went  to  England  with  some  troops  (1245),  and  aided 
Henry  HI.  in  his  Welsh  wars.  On  their  return,  Fitzgerald  was 
dismissed  from  the  Viceroyalty  and  De  Marisco  appointed  in 
his  place,f  but  the  change  did  not  bring  peace  to  Connaught. 
There  were  contests  between  the  O'Connors  and  O'Reillys  of 
Breffni  (1243-4)  and  between  a  minor  branch  of  the  O'Connor 
family  and  the  English  (1247)  during  which  Gal  way  was  burned.  J 
Again,  under  Birmingham,  the  English  were  defeated  at  Sligo 
(1249)  by  Felim  O'Connor's  son,  and  in  the  same  year,  perhaps  in 
revenge,  the  Viceroy  and  Fitzgerald  deposed  Felim  and  set  up 
his  nephew  Turlogh  in  his  place.  The  new  King  soon  quarrelled 
with  his  patrons  and  went  to  war  with  them,  but  at  Athenry  he 

*  Matt.  Paris j  Vol.  J.,  p.  297. 
t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.    102. 
+  Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 


250  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  defeated  with  heavy  loss  by  Jordan  de  Exeter,  the  English 
Sheriff  of  Connaught.*  The  next  year  (1250),  Felim  returned 
from  Tirowen,  defeated  his  nephew  Turlogh,  and  making  peace 
with  the  English  was  again  recognised  as  King.  A  little  later 
(1253),  he  was  at  war  with  the  O'Reillys  of  Breffni  and  again, 
two  years  later,  on  this  latter  occasion  in  alliance  with  Walter 
de  Burgho,  the  son  and  heir  of  his  old  enemy,  Richard.  To  the 
dismay  of  Felim,  who  had  been  so  long  his  faithful  subject, 
Henry  III.  granted  "  500  librates  "  of  land  in  Connaught  to 
one  Godfrey  de  Lusignac,  but  the  Irish  prince  remonstrated, 
the  grant  was  withdrawn  and  an  agreement  was  entered  into 
(1256),  by  which  Felim  undertook  on  his  part  not  to  molest  any 
of  the  English  in  their  possessions,  while  on  the  other  side  the 
integrity  of  his  own  dominions  was  guaranteed  by  the  Viceroy, 
De  la  Zouch.j 

Compared  with  Connaught,  alternately  desolated  by  English 
noble  and  Irish  chief,  and  in  which  the  tumult  of  war  was  seldom 
hushed,  the  state  of  Munster,  during  these  years,  was  one  of 
peace.  Yet  there  were  many  elements  of  discord  and  turmoil 
within  its  bounds.  In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  submission 
made  by  Donogh  O'Brien  to  King  John, J  there  was  an  English 
castle  built  at  Killaloe  (12 15),  by  Jeffrey  de  Marisco  which,  like 
other  castles  of  its  kind,  was  to  serve  for  the  invaders  as  a  retreat 
in  danger  and  a  rallying  point  for  attack.  The  grandson  of 
that  Maurice  Fitzgerald,  who  had  come  over  with  Fitzstephen,  had 
granted  to  him  by  mandatory  letter  of  Henry  III.  (12 16),  besides 
the  castle  and  lands  of  Maynooth,  the  castle  and  lands  of  Croom, 
in  Limerick, but  lately  the  paternal  inheritanceof  the  0'Donovans;|| 
early  in  the  thirteenth  century  the  Fitzgeralds  had  gained  a 
strong  foothold  in  Desmond,  and  the  position  of  De  Burgho  at 
Limerick  was  near  and  his  forces  strong.  The  ancient  jealousy 
between  the  O'Briens  of  Thomond  and  the  MacCarthys  of 
Desmond  still  survived  and  the  strength  of  each  of  these  families 
was  often  dissipated  by  faction  and  discord  and  petty  ambition  ; 
and  to  carry  their  point  these  princes,  like  the  O'Connors  of 
Connaught,  were  always  ready  to  call  the  English  to  their  aid. 
In  1225,  Donogh  O'Brien  and  De  Burgho  fought  side  by  side 
in  Connaught,  but  ten  years  later  they  were  opposed  and 
De  Burgho  had  many  native  soldiers  in  his  ranks.*  *  Some  years 
later  (1249),  MacCarthy  of  Desmond  made  war  on  the  English 

*  Annals  of  Lock  Ce. 

t   The  0' Conors  of  Connaught,  p.    107. 

+  White's  History  of  Clare,  p.    124. 

II  Four  Masters  at   1224  (O'Donovan's  note). 

*  *  Ibid.,  1235.  One  of  these  was  O'H^yne,  "  who  wished  to  be  revenged 
on  the  Mononians  and  on  Donogh  Caribry  O'Brien." 


LONG-CONTINUED   TURMOIL.  25  I 

and  inflicted  heavy  loss  on  them  but  the  next  year  that  energetic 
prince  was  murdered,  it  was  thought,  by  an  Irish  hand.*  Again 
(in  1257),  Connor  O'Brien  of  Thomond  attacked  Fitzgerald  and 
the  English  and  defeated  them  at  Feakle  in  Clare,  but,  in  the 
same  year  in  some  factionist  contest,  he  was  defeated  and  slain, 
being  succeeded  by  Brian  Roe  O'Brien.  In  the  meantime 
Fitzgerald  had  made  progress  in  Desmond,  for  he  was  able  to 
found  and  endow  with  lands  (1253)  a  monastery  at  Ardfert, 
near  Tralee.f 

Tirconnel  and  Tirowen  had  long  been  rivals  and  enemies, 
and  it  is  noticeable  that  while  the  sons  of  Roderick  O'Connor 
in  their  distress  found  an  asylum  with  O'Donnell,  their  rivals 
sought  for  shelter  in  Tirowen.  Such  a  state  ot  things  would 
furnish  the  English  with  an  opportunity  to  inferfere  and  conquer, 
but  they  had  already  tried  conclusions  with  Hugh  O'Neill  and 
had  been  badly  worsted  in  the  contest,  and  while  he  lived 
neither  the  jealousy  of  Tirconnell  nor  the  cupidity  of  the  English 
disturbed  the  tranquility  of  his  province.  But  after  his  death 
(11230),  the  sceptre  passed  into  less  capable  hands,  and  his  successor, 
Donal  O'Loughlin,  aided  by  the  English,  entered  Tirconnell 
^1232),  which  he  wasted  and  plundered  only,  however,  to  have 
his  own  province  overrun  by  O'Donnell  in  the  same  year.  Four 
years  later,  O'Donnell  again  marched  eastward  and  got  at  least 
temporary  submission  from  most  of  the  northern  chiefs.  J  The 
English  believed  the  opportune  time  to  interfere  (in  1238),  had 
come  and  the  Viceroy,  Maurice  Fitzgerald,  aided  by  De  Lacy, 
entered  Tirowen  and  Tirconnell,  deposed  Donal  O'Loughiin, 
and  put  in  his  place  a  nominee  ot  their  own — Brian  O'Neill — 
got  hostages  from  Tirconnell  and  the  other  lesser  provinces, 
and  at  last  the  English  might  boast  that  they  had  planted  them- 
selves firmly  in  these  provinces,  which  had  withstood  their  arms 
so  long. II  Quarrels  soon  arose  between  O'Loughlin  and  O'Neill 
for  the  supreme  position  in  Tirowen  and  were  continued  with 
varying  success  until  O'Neill  invoked  and  obtained  the  aid  of 
O'Donnell  and  fought,  near  Maghera,  in  Derry,  an  obstinate  and 
bloody  battle  in  which  O'Loughlin  was  defeated  and  slain,  and 
Brian  O'Neill  (in  1241)  became  ruler  ot  Tirowen.  Maurice 
Fitzgerald,  having  vastly  increased  in  power,  had  built  a  strong 
castle  at  Sligo  and  from  its  shelter  made  frequent  incursions  into 
Tirconnell  until  finally,  by  the  aid  of  some  of  the  O'Connors  ot 
Connaught,  he  fought  with  O'Donnell  the  battle  of  Ballyshannon 

*  Annals  of  Innisfallen,  quoted  by  O'Donovarij  note  to  Four  Masters 
at   1250. 

t  Four  Masters. 
X  Ibid, 
II  Ibid. 


252  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND 

i|ii247),  where  O'Donnell  was  outmanoeuvred  and  defeated  and 
himself  and  many  of  his  followers  killed.  Fitzgerald  was  then 
enabled  toplay  the  part  of  kingmaker,  and  one  Rory  O'Cannannan 
was  made  chief  of  Tirconnell.  But  the  allegiance  of  his  nominee 
was  shortlived  or,  perhaps,  his  own  favour  was  not  continued  ; 
Godfrey  O'Donnell  solicited  Fitzgerald's  aid  and  O'Cannannan 
was  defeated  and  slain.  Tirowen  was  then  entered  by  the  Viceroy. 
De  Marisco,  and  its  submission  was  obtained,  the  Irish  deeming 
it  wiser  to  peacefully  submit  than  to  have  recourse  to  arms,  as 
they  felt  that  "  the  English  had  at  that  time  the  ascendancy 
over  the  Irish."*  Fitzgerald  again  invaded  and  wasted  both 
Tirowen  and  Tirconnell  (1250)  ;  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  were  at 
war  (1252),  and  Fitzgerald  and  O'Neill  (1253),  in  which  O'Neill 
was  victorious,  inflicted  much  loss  on  Fitzgerald  and  demolished 
many  of  the  English  strongholds  in  the  north. f  A  few  years 
later  (1257),  a  determined  effort  was  made  by  the  English  to 
finally  crush  the  power  of  Godfrey  O'Donnell,  and  for  this  purpose 
the  Viceroy  and  Fitzgerald  united  their  forces.  Such  a  com- 
bination must  have  been  formidable  in  its  strength,  yet  O'Donnell 
put  forth  his  best  efforts  and,  unaided,  except  by  the  enthusiastic 
clansmen  of  Tirconnell,  he  met  the  English  at  Drumcliff  (in  Sligo), 
fought  a  desperate  and  long  contested  battle  and  finally  prevailed, 
though  he  himself  was  severely  wounded,  as  was  also  his  enemy 
Fitzgerald,  whom  it  is  said  he  met  in  single  combat. J  This 
heroic  conduct  of  Godfrey  O'Donnell  entitled  him  to  the  best 
thanks  of  every  Irish  chief,  for,  in  defeating  the  English,  he  was 
defeating  their  enemies  as  well  as  his  own,  and  in  his  illness  he 
deserved  the  sympathy  of  his  neighbour,  O'Neill.  But  these 
Irish'chiefs  had  no  country  but  their  clan,  and  instead  of  rejoicing 
O'Neill  was  displeased  at  the  success  of  O'Donnell,  thinking, 
no  doubt,  that  so  great  a  victory  cast  the  greatness  of  Tirowen 
into  the  shade.  Believing  that  Tirconnell  was  at  his  mercy, 
its  forces  weakened,  its  chief  ill  and  unable  to  lead  them,  he 
despatched  messengers  to  O'Donnell  demanding  hostages. 
O'Donnell  was  seriously  ill,  but  he  disdainfully  refused  to  yield, 
told  these  messengers  of  an  ungenerous  chief  that  Tirconnell 
was  still  able  to  defend  herself,  bade  his  clansmen  assemible  from 
all  quarters  and,  borne  upon  his  bed  which  he  felt  would  soon 
contain  his  corpse,  he  went  with  his  clansmen  to  battle.  On  the 
banks  of  Lough  S willy  the  two  armies  met.  The  battle  was 
fierce  and  soon  decided  in  favour  of  O'Donnell,  but  on  the  return 


*  Four  Masters. 
t  Ibid. 

X  Ibid.    The  men  of  Tirconnell  pursued  the  English  to  Sligo  and  burned 
and  plundered  that  town. 


LONG-CONTINUED   TURMOIL.  253 

to  Tirconnell,  at  a  place  near  Letterkenny,  the  litter  on  which 
O'Donnell  was  carried  was  laid  down  and  the  heroic  chieitain 
expired.* 

Had  the  various  English  chiefs — De  Burgho,  FitzGerald  and 
the  rest — united  under  a  single  leader,  with  their  superior  forces 
and  superior  arms,  they  would  quickly  have  overborne  the 
Irish,  and  the  native  chiefs,  lacking  unity  and  cohesion  and 
fighting  only  for  themselves,  would  have  fallen  one  by  one. 
This  would  probably  have  happened  if  Ireland  and  England 
were  far  apart.  But  the  two  islands  were  near,  so  near  that 
it  was  dangerous  for  an  English  subject  to  successfully  revolt 
against  his  king  as  De  Courcy  in  his  day  had  found  ;  yet,  so  far 
apart  that  successive  English  Kings  had  paid  but  little  attention 
to  Irish  concerns_,  had  never  effectually  conquered  it,  and  had 
left  their  Viceroys  at  Dublin  insufficiently  supported,  while  a 
number  of  powerful  barons,  impatient  of  control,  despising 
the  feeble  authority  of  the  central  government,  had  gradually 
and  imperceptibly  risen  to  the  position  of  independent  rulers. 
Intent  on  the  acquisition  of  wealth  and  lands,  they  made  peace 
and  war  as  they  pleased  ;  if  they  united  it  was  not  for  the  English 
King's  interests  but  for  their  own  ;  even  their  own  countrymen 
they  did  not  spare  ;  and  in  their  treatment  of  Richard  Marshall, 
such  was  their  unbounded  rapacity,  that  they  shamefully  com- 
bined for  the  purpose  of  spoliation  and  murder.  This  young 
man  was  the  son  of  William,  Earl  Marshall,  who  in  the  early 
part  of  Henry's  reign  held  the  position  of  guardian  of  the  kingdom 
and  whose  ability  and  energy,  more  than  anything  else,  had 
driven  the  French  out  of  England,  and  placed  Henry  without 
a  rival  on  the  throne,  f  Through  his  mother,  Isabel,  daughter 
and  heiress  of  Eva  and  Strongbow,  Richard  had  vast  estates 
in  Ireland — almost  all  Leinster  was  his.  Sharing  the  dissatisfaction 
and  even  disgust  of  the  English  barons  at  the  number  of  Henry's 
French  favourites,  he  rose  in  revolt  in  Wales  (1230),  but  as  Henry 
made  some  promises  of  amendment,  hostilities  were  suspended, 
and  during  this  interval  of  peace,  Richard  went  to  Ireland. 
It  was  against  the  ruling  English  minister,  the  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  more  than  against  the  King  himself,  that  Richard 
Marshall  had  risen  in  arms,|  and  this  minister  resolved  to  have 
his  revenge.  Letters  under  the  King's  seal  and  bearing  the 
signature  of  the  minister  himself  were  addressed  to  Hugh  and 
Walter    de  Lacy,  Richard  de  Burgho,  Geoffrey  de  Marisco  and 

*  Four  Masters  at  1258.     He  was  succeeded  by  Donal  Oge  O'-Donnell. 

t  Lingard,   Vol.  II.,  pp.    189  et  seq. 

X  Leland's  History  of  Ireland.  Vol.  I.,-  p.  212.  So  much  was  this  so, 
thac  whenever  Henry  led  the  army  in  person  Marshall  would  not  oppose 
him ;   his  opposition  and  emnity  were  for  the  foreigners} 


2  54  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Maurice  FitzGerald  warning  them  that  Marshall  had  been  banished 
from  the  realm  and  his  estates  forfeited  and  that,  on  his  landing 
in  Ireland,  they  should  capture  him  alive  or  dead,  and  in  leturn 
for  this  service  they  were  to  obtain  possession  of  all  his  lands.* 
These  English  lords  were  quite  ready  to  compass  the  young  man's 
ruin  on  such  favourable  terms,  and  when  he  landed  in  Ireland 
De  Marisco  pretended  to  be  his  friend,  applauded  him  for  his 
rebellious  conduct  in  England,  and  as«;ured  him  such  was  his 
popularity  and  influence  in  Ireland,  that  if  he  raised  the  standard 
of  revolt  he  would  easily  defeat  the  King's  forces,  recover  his 
own  castles,  some  of  which  had  been  already  seized  by  the  King's 
officers,  and  might  one  day  extend  his  power,  not  only  over 
Leinster,  but  over  Ireland.  Hastily  mustering  some  troops, 
he  overran  much  ot  Leinster  and  even  captured  Limerick,  while 
Fitzgerald,  De  Buigho  and  his  fellow-conspirators  offered  but 
a  feeble  resistance,  for  their  object  was  to  lure  the  young  man 
to  his  ruin.  Desiring,  they  said,  to  stay  the  effusion  of  blood, 
they  proposed  a  friendly  conference  which  was  held  on  the  plain 
of  Kildare.  On  one  side  was  Marshall  and  De  Marisco,  on  the 
other  Fitzgerald,  De  Buigho  and  De  Lacy.  Marshall  had  only 
fifteen  followers — fiom  Wales — his  ally  and  tiiend  de  Marisco, 
had  eighty,  while  on  the  other  side  were  one  hundred  and  forty 
armed  men.  During  the  conference  De  Marisco  advised 
Marshall  not  to  make  terms  but  to  fight  it  out,  not  to  agree 
even  to  a  suspension  of  hostilities,  and  when  this  advice  was 
adopted,  he  coolly  told  him  that  he  could  not  fight  against  his 
relatives,  the  De  Lacys,  and  marched  away  with  his  followers, 
leaving  Richard  but  15  men  to  meet  the  attack  of  140  men.f 
Even  then  he  disdained  to  yield,  and  telling  his  younger  brother, 
Waiter,  to  make  his  escape — as  he  did— he  prepared  to  meet 
the  enemy's  attack.  His  followers  were  soon  cut  down  and 
himself  severely  wounded  and  carried  of^  a  prisoner  to  one  of 
Fitzgerald's  castles,  where  a  treacherous  surgeon  was  called 
to  attend  him,  and  poison  finished  the  work  which  the  sword 
had  left  unfinished.  Yet  the  conspirators  benefited  little  by 
their  treachery,  for  an  outcry  was  raised  both  in  Ireland  and 
in  England  ;  the  King  was  forced  to  disown  his  share  in  the  plot, 
and  to  swear  that  his  signature  had  been  forged  ;  and  the  brother 
of  the  dead  Earl  was  invested  with  all  his  honours  and    estates.^ 

*  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  p.  95.  It  appears  the  King's  Seal  was  stolen 
from  the  Chancellor  and  used  without  the  King's  knowledge,  and  to  that 
extent  he  was  innocent. 

t  Matthew  Paris,  who  has  narrated  these  events  in  detail,  is  specially 
severe  on  De  Marisco,  whom  he  names  Achitophel.    (Vid.  Ware's  Annals). 

*  Leland,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  213-18.  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  p.  97.  Four  Masters 
at  the  year  1234,  the  date  at  which  these  events  happened. 


LONG-CONTINUED   TURMOIL.  255 

When  the  second  half  of  the  thirteenth  century  opened,  the 
position  ot  the  native  Irish  was  critical,  and  the  indications  were 
that  their  final  subjugation  was  near.  In  Desmond  the 
MacCarthys  were  making  a  gallant  stand,  but  the  frowning 
castles  ot  the  Geraldines  were  placed  firmly  in  their  midst 
and  were  a  standing  and  perpetual  menace  to  their  freedom. 
The  English  castles  ot  Killaloe  and  Bunratty  and  the  occupation 
of  Limerick  warned  the  O'Briens  that  in  Thomond  their  power 
and  territories  were  curtailed.  Connaught  trembled  and  suffered 
under  the  afTfliction  of  De  Burgho,  and  its  native  chiefs  were 
alternately  his  enemies  or  his  slaves.  The  northern  province, 
so  long  secure  against  the  invader,  at  last  had  tasted  defeat 
at  his  hands,  and  the  waves  of  invasion  and  even  of  conquest 
had  swept  over  Tirconnell  and  Tiro  wen.  The  various  chiefs, 
disunited  and  alone,  fought  their  own  battles  and  had  not  yet 
advanced  beyond  the  condition  of  the  Britons  in  the  time  of 
Tacitus,  of  whom  he  complacently  observed,  that  while  they 
fought  separately  all  were  overwhelmed.*  Feeling  that  unity 
of  action  was  essential,  if  their  freedom  was  to  be  maintained, 
O'Brien  of  Thomond,  Felim  O'Connor  and  O'Neill  had  a  con- 
ference (1258),  at  which  O'Neill  was  proclaimed  supreme  king, 
and  the  others  professed  their  willingness  to  aid  him.  But 
the  conference  was  incomplete,  for  it  was  not  attended  by 
MacCarthy  of  Desmond,  and  O'Donnell  of  Tirconnell  held 
sullenly  aloof.  The  injury  done  to  his  province  by  O'Neill  was 
recent,  his  recollection  ot  it  was  bitter,  and  he  had  neither  the 
magnanimity  nor  the  patriotism  to  forgive.  Nor  is  it  quite 
certain  that  O'Brien  submitted  himself  to  O'Neill.  His  family 
historian  denies  that  he  did,f  that  it  would  be  a  shame  for  the 
descendant  of  the  great  Brian  to  hold  a  subordinate  place,  and 
what  supports  this  statement  is  that  in  the  war  which  followed, 
the  forces  of  Thomond  were  not  arrayed  under  the  banners  of 
O'Neill.  The  new  alliance  was  shortlived  and  barren  of  usefu 
result.  It  perished  on  the  tatal  field  of  Downpatrick  (1260), 
where  the  English  defeated  the  Irish  under  O'Neill  and  Felim 
O'Connor,  and  in  which  O'Neill  himself  and  many  of  the  chiefs 
ot  Ulster  and  Connaught  fell  .J  The  usual  result  followed.  De 
Burgho  ravaged  Connaught  and  O'Donnell  revenged  himself 
on  Tirowen.  Two  years  later,  the  Viceroy  and  De  Burgho 
plundered  the  Roscommon  portion  ot  Connaught,  while  O'Connor 
retaliated  by  attacking  the  English  settlements  in  South 
Connaught  and  killed  all  the  English  who  were  able  to  bear  arms, 

*  Agricola^  Cap    XII.     "  Singuli  pugnant  universi  vincuntur." 

t  White's  History  of  Clare,  p.    127. 

X  Four  Masters.      Of  one  family^  the  O'Kanes,  fifteen  chiefs  fell. 


256  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

from  Tuam  to  Athlone,  and  when  this  slaughter  and  pillage 
were  effected  on  both  sides,  he  and  De  Burgho  made  peace,  and 
in  the  quaint  language  of  the  Four  Masters,  slept  in  the  same 
bed,  cheerfully  and  contentedly  ;*  but  such  was  the  instability 
of  their  friendship,  that  they  were  again  at  war  next  year.  Felim 
O'Connor  died  (1265),  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Hugh, 
who  made  his  "  royal  depredation  in  Offaly,"  f  so  that  it  appears 
one  of  those  chiefs  commenced  his  reign  by  robbery,  and  that 
such  was  considered  honorable  and  expected.  This  Hugh 
was  a  man  of  energy  and  for  the  few  years  that  he  reigned  he 
fought  many  battles  and  destroyed  many  English  castles,  nor 
was  his  right  to  rule  seriously  questioned  by  any  member  of 
his  own  family  .J  But  when  he  died  (1274),  the  O'Connors 
again  commenced  to  quarrel  ;  the  position  of  chief  was  sought 
for  by  a  crowd  of  claimants  among  whom  a  man  ot  eminence 
is  sought  for  in  vain.  For  forty  years  these  feuds  continued, 
and  raids  and  robberies  and  faction  lights  and  murders  make 
up  the  history  of  Connaught.  In  1278,  a  bastard,  Hugh 
O'Connor,  was  King,  two  years  later  he  was  killed  and 
Cahal  took  his  place  ;  in  1288,  after  another  series  of  quarrels, 
Manus  became  King,  and  in  -93-96,  and  again  in  1306,  the 
Annals  have  little  to  say  of  Connaught  except  that  the  O'Connors 
were  at  war  ;  and  the  years  that  followed,  up  to  the  battle  of 
Athenry  (13 18),  were  but  a  repetition  of  the  previous  years. || 
To  these  wars  may  be  added,  that  the  O'Rorkes  and  O'Connors 
were  at  war  (1266)  ;  the  Welshmen  ot  Tirawley — the  Barrets 
and  Cusacks  (1281)  ;  the  MacRannell  of  Leitrim  (1302);  the 
O'Kellys  of  Hy-many  and  MacDermot  (1308),  and  the  O'Connors 
and  MacDermot,  in  the  following  year.**  If  we  add,  further,  that 
Connaught  was  plundered  by  Fitzgerald  (1269),  by  De  Burgho 
(1270-86  and  91),  and  that  De  Burgho  (in  13 10),  quartered 
his  soldiers  on  the  natives  levying  bonaght,  in  the 
manner  of  the  ancient  Irish  chiefs,!"^  we  can  form  some  idea  of 
what  Connaught  endured,  wasted  by  domestic  factionist  and 
foreign  plunderer,  whose  people  were  strangers  to  peace  or  law, 
and  whose  property  and  lives  were  so  wantonly  sacrificed  to 
cupidity   and   ambition. 

The   history   of   Desmond   during   these   years   is   soon   told. 

*  Four  Masters.,  1262.  Both  O'Connor  and  De  Burgho  were  nearly 
related.      (Vid.  O'Donovan's  note.) 

\  Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

X  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise,   1274J 

II    The  0' Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.    117-37. 

**  Four  Masters.      Loch  Ce.      An.   Clonmacnoise. 

ff  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.  The  De  Burgho  in  question  was  WiUiam 
a  cousin  to  Richard,  Earl  of  Ulster. 


LONG-CONTINUED   TURMOIL.  257 

Fineen  MacCarthy  long  held  his  own  against  his  powerful 
neighbours,  the  Geraldines,  but  a  determined  effort  was  [made 
to  crush  him,  and  Fitzgerald  in  his  attack  was  aided  by  the 
Viceroy  and  De  Burgho.  The  battle  was  fought  (1260),  at 
Greencastle  in  Kerry.*  The  chiefs  of  Desmond  gathered  round 
MacCarthy,  and  the  English  were  defeated  with  great  slaughter, 
several  of  the  Fitzgeralds  being  killed  ;  and  so  many  castles 
were  destroyed,  and  common  soldiers  slain,  that,  for  the  space 
of  twelve  years,  Fitzgerald  lived  merely  on  sufferance  and  was 
unable  to  put  a  plough  in  the  ground  .f  De  Burgho  again 
attacked  Desmond  (1262),  but  was  defeated  ;  Fineen  MacCarthy 
soon  died,  or  was  killed ;  Fitzgerald  recovered  his  position  ;  and 
the  MacCarthys  must  have  sunk  into  impotence  and  obscurity, 
as  they  disappear  almost  completely  from  the  native  Annals. 
Not  content  with  attacking  Desmond,  Fitzgerald  also  attacked 
Thomond  (-1273),  and  obtained  submission  from  the  ruling 
prince,  Brian,  and  about  the  same  time  there  came  to  the  district 
an  English  nobleman — De  Clare — who  had  got  from  Edward  I. 
large  grants  of  land  in  Thomond.  A  quarrel  was  then  raging 
between  two  of  the  O'Briens,  and  one  of  them — Brian — to  obtain 
the  support  of  De  Clare,  surrendered  to  him  Tradree,  a  strip 
of  land  along  the  Shannon.  They  became  sworn  friends, 
and,  to  add  to  the  solemnity  of  their  oaths,  some  of  the  blood  of 
each  was  taken  and  mixed  together  in  a  vessel,  a  peculiarly  solemn 
form  of  sanction  to  their  engagements.  +  Yet,  no  sooner  did 
De  Clare  feel  his  position  secure  than  he  treacherously  seized 
Brian  (1277),  had  him  tied  to  the  tail  of  an  untrained  horse  and 
thus  cruelly  tortured  him  to  death.  Vengeance  speedily  over- 
took the  assassin.  The  O'Briens  suspended  their  quarrels, 
and  fiercely  turning  on  De  Clare  defeated  him  at  Quinn  ([1278), 
pursued  the  retreating  soldiers  even  into  a  neighbouring  church, 
burned  the  church  over  their  heads,  pursued  the  remainder  across 
the  Shannon  to  Slieve  Bloom,  wrung  from  Fitzgerald,  who  had 
aided  De  Clare,  possession  of  his  castle  at  Roscommon,  captured 
all  De  Clare's  possessions,  except  the  castle  of  Bunratty,  and 
left  him  nothing  else  that  he  could  call  his  own  within  the  wide 
domain  of  Thomond. ||  For  many  years  after  that  date  the 
province  enjoyed  peace,  but  when  the  ruling  prince,  Turlogh, 
died  (1306),  quarrels  arose  as  to  the  succession,  the  English 
took  sides,  and  what  seems  strange,  while  De  Burgho  fought 
on  one  side,  De  Clare  was  on  the  other.      These  wars  continued 

*  Four  Masters.      The  battle  was  fought  five  miles  east  of  Kenmare. 
■j-  Hanmer,  p.  400,  who  declares  that  the    "  Car  ties  played  the  devils 
in  Desmond." 

%  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise. 

II  White's  History  of  Clare,  pp:   132-3; 

S 


258  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

for  more  than  ten  years,  and  Thomond  presented  a  spectacle 
of  turmoil  and  strife  which  recalls  and  equals  the  quarrels  of  the 
O'Connors. 

The  ancient  enmity  was  continued  and  even  seemed  to 
increase  between  Tirconnell  and  Tiro  wen.  The  O'Neills  invaded 
Tirconnell  (1275),  and  desolated  much  of  it,  but  at,  or  near, 
Newtownstewart  they  were  encountered  by  Donal  Oge  O'Donnell 
and  were  defeated,  losing  "  men,  horses,  accoutrements,  arms 
and  armour."*  As  if  waiting  to  consolidate  their  strength, 
both  sides  remained  at  peace  for  six  years,  and  again  their  quarrels 
were  renewed.  Tirowen  was  aided  by  the  Ulster  English  and 
at  Desertereight  (in  the  barony  of  Dungannon),  Tirconnell  was 
overthrown  with  great  loss,  Donal  Oge  O'Donnell  being  among 
the  slain.  These  wars  weakened  the  capacity  of  both  provinces 
for  resistance,  and  Richard  de  Burgho,  Earl  of  Ulster,  marched 
north  (1286),  and  compelled  O'Donnell  to  submit,  and  was  able 
to  depose  the  chief  of  Tirowen,  Brian  O'Neill,  and  put  a  creature 
of  his  own,  Nial  O'Neill,  in  his  place. f  As  if  to  complete  the 
ruin  of  their  territories,  quarrels  arose  as  to  the  succession  (1290), 
both  in  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen,  the  weakened  provinces,  no 
longer  able  to  resist,  were  next  year  invaded  by  De  Burgho, 
who  pulled  down  one  O'Neill  and  put  up  another,  and  who  was 
enabled  to  plunder  Tirconnell  with  impunity,  and  he  "  plundered 
the  entire  country  both  church  and  territory,"  and  he  did 
not  leave  a  cloth  upon  an  altar,  nor  a  mass-book,  nor  a  chalice 
in  the  churches  of  Kinel-Connell."J  Ihere  were  fresh  quarrels 
between  the  O'Donnell  princes  (1295),  and  again,  eight  years 
later,  these  quarrels  were  renewed.  The  result  was  easy 
to  foresee.  De  Burgho  swept  through  Tirconnell  (1305),  and 
far  north,  in  the  ancient  territory  of  Innishowen,  he  planted  an 
English  Colony  and  built  a  strong  castle  at  Moville. 

By  this  time  the  fairest  portion  of  the  ancient  Kingdom  of 
Leinster  was  exclusively  in  English  hands,  but  there  was  still  a 
MacMurrogh,  who  claimed  to  be  the  lawful  representative  of 
its  ancient  kings.  His  possessions,  compared  to  those  of  his 
ancestors,  were  small,  but  his  spirit  was  unbroken,  and  in  his 
territory  at  Wicklow,  so  great  were  his  resources,  that  he  was 
able  (1276),  to  inflict  a  crushing  defeat  on  the  English  Viceroy, 
De  Geneville,  in  the  passes  of  Glenmalure.  ||  Surrounded  by 
powerful  English  lords — the  Fitzgeralds  and  Birmingbams — 
O'Connor  still  maintained  his  independence  in  Offaly,  but  its 

*  Four  Masters. 
t  Ibid. 

X  Annals  of  Lock  Ce. 

II  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.  The  English  were  reduced  to  such  straits 
that  they  had  to  eat  their  horses: 


LONG-CONTINUED   TURMOIL.  259 

ruling  chief,  in  an  evil  hour  for  himself,  trusted  the  honour 
of  Birmingham,  who  in  the  guise  of  friendship  invited 
him  and  his  chiefs  to  a  banquet  at  his  castle  in  Kildare  (1305), 
and  then  had  them  all  foully  murdered  ;  and  in  consequence 
ever  afterwards  bore  the  name  of  "  the  treacherous  baron."* 
The  ancient  family  of  O'Mellaghlins  still  ruled  in  Meath,  and 
though  its  chiefs  had  not  inherited  all  the  lands,  they  had  in- 
herited the  vigour  of  their  ancestors.  Art  O'Mellaghlin  could 
boast  at  his  death  (1283),  that  he  had  destroyed  twenty-seven 
English  castles  in  Meath,-}"  and  his  successor,  Carbry,  was  not 
less  vigorous  and  energetic,  and  when  Butler  of  Ormond. 
Birmingham,  Fitzgerald  and  De  Geneville — the  heir  of  Walter 
de  Lacy — united  in  one  powerful  confederacy  for  his  destruction, 
he  met  them  with  undaunted  front  and  hurled  back  their  forces 
in  defeat. I  And  when  the  assassin's  hand  of  his  countrymen, 
MacCoghlan,  struck  him  down  (i29o),||  there  was  no  one,  either 
native  or  foreigner,  to  question  the  right  of  another  O'Mellaghlin 
to  succeed. 

The  numerous  wars  and  battles  between  the  Irish  and  English 
and  between  the  Irish  themselves  had  inflicted  many  miseries 
on  the  inhabitants,  both  of  Irish  and  English  descent.  To  these 
wars  must  be  added  the  wars  and  battles  and  contentions  between 
the  great  Anglo-Irish  lords,  from  which  miseries  as  great,  and 
often  greater,  arose.  The  De  Burghos  and  Fitzgeralds  and 
Birminghams  and  Butlers  were  now  the  owners  of  vast 
estates,  knew  no  law  except  their  own  wills,  and  were  never 
restiained  by  the  Viceroy,  whom  they  either  despised  or  ignored. 
De  Burgho  and  Fitzgerald  quarrelled  and  fought  (1264),  so 
that  the  greater  part  of  Ireland  was  destroyed  between  them  ;** 
De  Burgho  seized  all  Fitzgerald's  castles  in  Connaught  and 
plundered  his  people,  and  the  same  year  Fitzgerald  quarrelled 
with  the  Viceroy  and  took  him  and  Theobald  Butler  prisoners 
in  the  consecrated  church  of  Castledermot,  in  Kildare.ff  In 
the  wars  of  Desmond  de  Burgho  and  De  Clare  were  on  opposite 
sides  ;  Richard  de  Burgho  and  Fitzgerald  were  again  at  war  (1294) 
Fitzgerald  had  his  enemy  taken  and  thrown  into  prison  in 
consequence  of  which  "  all  Ireland  was  thrown  into  a  state  of 
disturbance. "JJ — a  statement  easy  to  believe,  as  these  two  were 

*  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise .  His  castle  was  at  Castle  Carbury, 
County  Kildare. 

t  Ibid. 

X  The  battle  was  fought  near  Croghan  in  King's  Countyg 

II  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise. 

*  *  Four  Masters. 

tt  Grace's  Annals :  Hanmer; 
It  Four  Masters. 


260  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

the  most  powerful  men  in  Ireland.  In  right  of  his  mother, 
the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Hugh  De  Lacy,  de  Burgho  was 
Earl  of  Ulster,  and  to  his  enormous  possessions  in  Connaught 
he  had  added  the  estates  of  De  Lacy;  while  Fitzgerald  had  estates  in 
Connaught  and  could  call  most  of  Desmond  his  own,  and,  besides, 
was  allied  in  marriage  with  De  Clare  and  Geoffrey  de  Marisco.  Nor 
did  these  two  nobles  desist  from  their  quarrels  except  through  the 
personal  mtervention  of  Edward  I.  Two  years  later,  both 
De  Burgho  and  Fitzgerald  aided  Edward  in  his  war  in  Scotland, 
as  they  did  at  a  later  date  (1303),  his  son  and  successor,  Edward 
II.*  In  their  absence  there  was  peace  in  Ireland,  but  a  few 
years  later  (113 11),  De  Burgho  and  De  Claie  were  at  war  in 
which  De  Burgho  was  victorious,  though  himself  was  taken 
prisoner .f  From  all  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  translator  of 
the  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise  does  not  exaggerate,  when  he  says 
"  that  there  reigned  more  dissensions,  strifes,  wars  and  debates 
between  the  Englishmen  themselves  than  between  the  Irishmen." 
The  dissensions  among  the  Irish  were  the  cause  of  most  of  their 
miseries  :  the  dissensions  among  the  Anglo-Irish  were  the  cause 
why  the  conquest  of  Ireland  was  indefinitely  delayed,  and  the 
agony  of  the    country  indefinitely  prolonged. 

*  Four  Masters,   1 296-1 303. 

f  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.    It  was  William  de  Burgho,  or  Burke,  not 
the  Red  Earl  (Richard  de  Burgho.) 


CHAPTER    XIX. 
The  Anglo-Normans  and  the  Church. 

The  Bull  of  Adrian — The  Synod  of  Cashel — Its  decrees — Laurence  O'Toole — 
His  character  and  death — His  successors — Irish  bishops  usually  English 
born — Henry  de  Londres — The  Anglo-Irish  lords  destroy  the  churches 
of  the  Irish  and  build  churches  and  monasteries  in  their  place — 
The  Canon  Regulars  of  St.  Augustine — The  Cistercians,  their  popu- 
larity,  power    and    degeneracy — Remonstrance    of    Donal    O'Neill. 

If  the  Bull  of  Adrian  be  taken  as  an  authentic  document, 
and  if  its  words  truly  represent  the  actual  condition  of  Ireland 
at  the  time  it  was  issued,  then,  assuredly,  the  Irish  Church  had 
fallen  low.  Henry  was  encouraged  to  proceed  to  Ireland,  to 
extend  the  limits  of  the  Church,  to  check  the  torrent  of  wicked- 
ness, to  reform  evil  manners,  to  sow  the  seeds  of  virtue  and  to 
increase  the  Christian  religion.  The  Pope's  language  assumes 
that  the  Christian  religion  had,  at  least  from  part  of  the  country, 
disappeared,  for  otherwise  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  speak  of 
extending  the  limits  of  the  Church  ;  and  a  land  where  wickedness 
progressed  unchecked  with  the  strength  and  force  of  a  mountain 
torrent,  where  the  people's  manners  were  evil,  and  where  the 
seeds  of  virtue  had  perished,  amid  the  surrounding  wilderness  of 
crime  and  sin,  was  a  land  in  which  religion  had  lost  its  power 
to  influence  the  people's  conduct  for  good.  Such  did  Ireland 
and  the  Irish  appear  in  the  mind  of  the  Pope,  such  was  it  repre- 
sented to  be  by  the  agents  of  Henry  II — a  land  without  religion 
and  without  morals.  To  carry  out  his  promise  to  the  Pope,  to 
establish  religion  where  none  existed,  to  pluck  up  the  weeds  of 
vice  and  have  the  Church  in  Ireland  as  a  cultivated  garden — 
this  was  what  the  King  undertook  to  do,  and  he  made  a  beginning 
by  calling  the  Synod  of  Cashel.*  And  the  enactments  made  at 
that  gathering  give  a  more  accurate  view  of  the  disorders  that 
prevailed,  than  we  can  gather  from  the  exaggerated  words  of 
Adrian  IV. 

*  Laniganj  Vol.  iv.,  pp.  204-8.     None  of  the  northern  bishops  were 
present  except  perhaps  the  Bishop  of  Clogher. 


262  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

With  the  concurrence  of  Henry's  representatives,  the  Papal 
Legate,  the  Archbishops  of  Cashel,  Dublin  and  Tuam  and  their 
suffragans   and    many   other   ecclesiastics — abbots,   archdeacons, 
priors  and  deans,  it  was  decreed,  that  marriages  between  cousins 
and  kinsfolk  should   cease,   that  children   should  be  catechised 
outside  the   church  door  and  infants  baptized  at  the  consecrated 
fonts  in  the  baptistries  of  the   church,  that  tithes  should  be  paid 
and  that  ecclesiastical  possessions  should  be  free  from  the  exactions 
of  secular  men,  that  petty  kings  or  other  such  should  no  longer 
quarter    themselves   and    their   retainers   on   ecclesiastical    terri- 
tories,* that  the  clergy  should  no  longer  be  liable  for  fines  due 
as  the  result  of  a  murder  perpetrated  by  one  of  their  kindred, 
that  every  good  Christian  should  make  his  will  at  death,  that 
those  who  died  after  a  good  confession  should  be  buried  with 
masses  and  vigils  and  that  the  divine  ofifices  should  be  celebrated 
in  conformity  with  the  practice  in  England .f       The  justice  and 
equity  ot  these  decrees  is  apparent.     Those  who  die  a  good  death, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Church,  have  a  right  to  the  Church's  prayers, 
those  who  made  their  wills  before  death  were  but  providing  against 
the  litigation  and  ill-feeling  that  so  often  is  the  consequence  of 
intestacy,  and  it  was  surely  a  grave  injustice  that  a  clergyman 
who  had  no  connection  and  no  sympathy  with  murder  yet  should 
be  liable  to  a  hne,l  because  the  murderer  happened  to  be  of  his 
blood,   for  the  equitable  connexion   is  that  punishment  should 
follow  culpability  and  not  innocence.       Nor  was  it  inequitable 
that  Church  possessions  should  be  exempt  from  the  exactions  of 
rapacious  laymen.     These  possessions  were  the  offerings  of  piety, 
given  to  the  Church  and  its  ministers,  so  that  they  might  be 
able  to  discharge  their  spiritual  functions  with  all  the  decencies 
required,  and   the  donors   never  intended  that  they  should  be 
harassed  and  impoverished  by  every  turbulent  chief, usually  accom- 
panied as  he  was  by  a  crowd  of    hungry  and  dissolute  retainers. 
The  regulations  as  to  catechising  children  in  thechurch  and  as  to 
baptisms  regarded  what  was  appropriate,  rather  than  what  was 
necessary  :    and  all  we  can  deduce  from  the  other  decrees  is — 
that  tithes  in  some  instances  were  not  paid,  that  the  offices  in 
the  church  differed  in  some  respect  from  those  in  England,  as 
in   the   time   of   Gillebert     they   differed   in   the   Irish   churches 
themselves,  and  that  marriages  were  still  contracted  within  the 
prohibited  degrees   of  kindred.       But   for  doctrinal  errors,   for 

*  This  was  the  practice  of  Coskery,  whereby  the  chief  and  his  retainers 
quartered  themselves  at  the  people's  houses,  eating  and  drinking  at  their 
expense.     (Harris's    Ware,  Vol.  II.,  p.  75.) 

t  Catnbrensis,  pp.  232-4. 

X  This  was  the  money  compensation  called  Eric,  which  almost  in  every 
case  was  the  punishment  for  murder  prescribed  in  the  Brehon  Law. 


THE   ANGLO-NORMANS   AND  THE   CHURCH.  263 

anything  which  could  make  the  creed  of  the  Irish  church  different 
from  that  of  Rome,  or  of  England,  for  peculiarities  even  of 
discipline  in  serious  matters — for  such  as  these  we  seek  in  vain 
in  the  Synod's  decrees.*  Even  the  old  worn  out  charge  of 
Pelagianism  is  not  revived,  and  the  disputes  about  the  tonsure 
and  Easter  belonged  to  the  distant  past.  Malachy  was  dead, 
but  it  was  evident  that  he  had  not  laboured  in  vain,  that  the 
impress  of  his  zeal  remained,  and  that  he  had  left  successors  who 
were  earnest  in  continuing  his  work. 

At  the  Synod  of  Cashel  the  Papal  Legate  was  Christian, 
Bishop  of  Lismore,  a  man  of  piety  and  zeal, but  the  most  remark- 
able figure  among  the  bishops  was  Laurence  O'Toole,  Archbishop 
of  Dublin.  Born  in  Kildare  and  baptised  at  the  shrine  of  St. 
Bridget,!  his  father  was  hereditary  chief  of  the  Hy  Murray,  a 
clan  which,  driven  from  Kildare  J  to  the  mountain  district  of 
Imaal  in  Wicklow,  were  for  centuries  yet  to  maintain  their  inde- 
pendence ;  his  mother  was  of  the  race  of  the  O'Byrnes,  similarly 
driven  from  Kildare  to  Wicklow,  and  equally  warlike  as  the 
O'Tooles.  His  father  had  been  at  war  with  MacMurrogh,  King 
of  Leinster,  and  had  been  defeated  by  him,  and  the  king,  as  a 
pledge  of  O'Toole's  submission,  insisted  that  young  Laurence 
should  be  given  him  as  a  hostage.  But  the  lad  was  treated  with 
the  greatest  severity  ;  the  manner  of  his  treatment  became 
known  to  his  father,  who  retaliated  by  making  war  on 
MacMurrogh,  defeated  a  detachment  of  his  troops,  and  captured 
twelve  of  them.  Negotiations  followed,  the  captured  soldiers 
were  exchanged  for  Laurence,  who,  selecting  the  Church  as  his 
calling,  was  sent  by  his  father  to  the  School  of  Glendalough  to 
be  trained.  It  was  the  school  of  St.  Kevin,  founded  by  him 
centuries  before  and  which  still  inherited  his  virtues  as  it  hallowed 
his  memory  ;  and  in  that  school  young  Laurence  O'Toole  spent 
thirteen  years  until,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five  years,  he 
was  appointed  abbot  of  Glendalough.  His  talents  and  piety 
attracted  widespread  notice,  and,  in  1 162,  he  was  called  to  the 
See  of  Dublin,  being  consecrated  by  Gelasius,  Archbishop  of 
Armagh.  His  zeal,  his  charity,  his  humility,  his  contempt  for 
wealth,  his  capacity  for  administration,  his  popularity  with  all 
classes  were  as  conspicuous  at  Dublin  as  at  Glendalough.  He 
introduced  into  Christ  Church  the  rule  of  the  Regular  Canons 

*  Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  210.  Lanigan  notes  that  there  is  no  mention 
made  of  Peter's  pence,  which  was  specially  mentioned    in   Adrian's   Bull. 

t  Healy's  Ancient  Schools  and  Scholars,  pp.  433-446. 

\  They  occupied  the  south-eastern  portion  of  the  present  county  of 
Kildare,  and  were  driven  from  this  fertile  district  shortly  after  St.  Laurence's 
death  (1280),  by  Walter  (Baron)  de  Riddlesford,  who  had  his  castle  at 
Tristledermot  or  Castledermot  {Book  of  Rights,  p.   210.) 


264  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

of  Aroasia,  he  adopted  the  same  rule  for  himself  and  wore  the 
dress  of  the  Order  under  his  episcopal  robes,  and  such  was  his 
charity  that  sixty  persons  were  daily  fed  from  his  bounty.*  His 
efforts  to  bring  the  Irish  chiefs  together  in  resistance  to  the 
invaders  were  those  of  a  patriot,  but  he  soon  became  convinced 
that  success  was  impossible  under  the  lead  of  such  an  imbecile 
as  Roderick  O'Connor,  and  after  the  Ardri  was  defeated  near 
Dublin,  the  Archbishop  quietly  accepted  the  inevitable  and 
acquiesced  in  the  Anglo-Norman  conquest  of  Dublin  and  of 
Leinster.  But  he  refused  to  accept  the  invaders  estimate  of 
themselves,  rapacity  and  cruelty  and  immorality  he  knew  well 
to  be  their  characteristics  ;  he  had  no  faith  in  Henry  H.  as  a 
church  reformer,  and  although  he  attended  the  Synod  of  Cashel 
and  accepted  the  supremacy  of  the  English  king,  he  had  no 
enthusiasm  for  the  rule  of  the  stranger,  and  in  the  interest  both 
of  the  country  and  of  the  church  he  looked  to  the  future  with 
dread.  So  much  did  Henry  fear  his  high  character,  his  dis- 
interestedness, his  clear  vision  of  the  future,  his  independence 
of  speech,  that  when  Laurence  was  passing  through  England, 
on  his  way  to  the  second  Council  of  Lateran  (11 79),  Henry 
compelled  him  to  take  an  oath  that  he  would  say  or  do  nothing 
at  Rome,  prejudicial  to  the  King's  interests  in  Ireland. f  He 
feared  that  Laurence  would  speak  the  truth  and,  if  so,  the  Pope 
could  leatn  that  Ireland  was  not  so  black  as  it  was  painted  by 
Henry's  agents,  nor  had  Henry  himself  changed  much  from 
those  days,  when  he  persecuted  a  Beckett.  The  next  year 
Laurence  died.  He  had  gone  to  Normandy  with  the  son  of 
Roderick  O'Connor  to  be  left  as  a  hostage  with  Henry  II.  On 
his  way  he  was  taken  ill  and  sought  refuge  at  the  monastery  of 
Eu,  and  there  he  died,  on  the  14th  November,  bewailing  the 
misfortunes  that  had  come  upon  his  country  and  sighing  over 
the  senseless  divisions  among  her  sons,  from  which  he  saw,  as 
in  a  vision,  so  many  misfortunes  would  arise.!  A  church  which 
could  boast  of  such  a  man^  a  saint  in  life,  a  saint  at  death,  and 
canonised  by  the  Church,  but  forty  years  after  his  death,  was 
not  altogether  past  redemption. 

By  the  side  of  St.  Laurence  the  Anglo-Norman  clergy,  who 
came  to  Ireland  in  the  wake  of  Strongbow,  stand  in  no  favourable 
contrast.  In  their  day  the  Normans  of  all  lands  were  conspicuous 
for  prowess  in  war.  No  weapon  was  more  fatal  than  the  Norman 
lance,  no  enemy  more  feared  than  the  Norman  knight.  Bold, 

*  D'Alton's   Archbishops  of  Dublin^   p.    54. 

fit  was  on  this  occasion  the  Pope  appointed  Laurence,  Papal  Legate 
in  place  of  Christian,  who  was  old  and  feeble.  (Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  238  ; 
Healy,  p.  443.) 

+  Even  Giraldus  calls  him  "  a  worthy  and  just  man."  (p.  292.) 


THE   ANGLO-NORMANS   AND   THE   CHURCH.  265 

daring,  adventurous,  brave  even  to  rashness,  independent  in 
spirit,  yet  ready  to  submit  to  the  harshest  discipline,  when  imposed 
by  their  chosen  chiefs,  using  their  arms  with  unequalled  dexterity, 
appalled  neither  by  dangers  nor  numbers,  they  wandered  far  in 
search  of  conquest  and  renown  ;  and  the  extent  of  their  dominions 
in  Sicily  and  Italy  and  England  attests  the  magnificence  of  their 
success.  Little  scrupulous  as  to  means,  they  readily  used  treachery 
and  deceit  to  attain  their  ends  ;  their  march  was  often  but 
organised  plunder  ;  their  castles  but  robbers'  dens,  whence  they 
issued  to  despoil  the  surrounding  inhabitants.  But  these  harsher 
features  of  the  Norman  character  were  redeemed  by  some  great 
virtues.  The  noble  who  had  no  learning  himself  aspired  to  be 
its  patron  and  supporter  ;  religion  seemed  powerless  to  restrain 
him  from  violence  and  injustice,  but  he  respected  religion  in 
others,  loved  to  pose  as  the  champion  of  the  Church,  spilt  his 
blood  freely  in  its  defence,  and  generously  gave  to  its  ministers 
part,  and  often  large  part,  of  the  lands  which  his  good  sword 
had  won.  On  the  field  of  Senlac,  the  conqueror  built  Battle  Abbey 
for  the  monks  of  the  Holy  Trinity*  ;  the  Norman  knight, 
Giroie,  had  six  churches  built  on  his  estates  f  ;  out  of  the  plunder 
of  the  enemy  the  successful  warrior  built  churches  and  liberally 
endowed  them,  and  the  most  powerful  nobles  held  themselves 
cheap  if  they  had  not  on  their  domains  some  establishments  of 
monks  or  clergy,  provided  by  them  with  whatever  was  necessary 
for  the  service  of  God. J 

The  superior  culture  of  the  clergy,  apart  from  their  religious 
character,  gave  them  influence  and  authority  and  they  were 
often  called  upon  to  fill  the  highest  civil  offices  in  the  State. 
The  virtuous  and  religious  took  Holy  Orders,  because  they  felt 
it  was  their  vocation,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  world  they  maintained 
their  purity  and  innocence.  But  the  ranks  of  the  clergy  were 
often  recruited  from  a  less  desirable  class,  men  of  worldly  ambition 
greedy  of  honours  and  riches,  of  the  influence  which  learning 
conferred,  of  the  position  to  which  it  might  lead.  Such  men 
had  little  ot  the  clerical  spirit.  They  were  statesmen,  diplomatists, 
judges  ;  and  sometimes  the  episcopal  robes  were  exchanged  for 
the  sword  and  lance  ;  and  the  case  of  the  Bishop  of  Coutances 
does  not  stand  alone,  who,  at  the  head  of  his  army,  fell  on  the 
West  Saxons  (1069),  '^^^  slew  some  of  them,  mutilated  a  number 
of  the  prisoners  and  put  the  rest  to  flight. ||  Such  men  held  light 
the  obligations  of  their  calling.    Looking  to  the  court  for  prefer- 

*  Ordericus   Vitalis.      History  of  England  and    Normandy  (4  Vols. 
Bohn),  Vol.  II.,  p.  2. 

t  Ordericus  Vitalis,  Vol.  I.,  p.  390. 
t  Ibid.,  Vol.  I.,  p.   382. 
II  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  26. 


266  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

ment  they  became  abject  flatterers  and  were  repaid  by  their 
princes  "  by  gifts  ot  bishoprics  and  abbeys  and  other  offices  of 
power  and  dignity  which  ought  to  be  conferred  for  the  merits 
of  holiness  and  learning."*  And  there  were  other  vices  with 
which  their  characters  were  stained.  The  son  of  the  Bishop  of 
Bayeux  was  at  the  court  of  Henry  I.,t  a  son  of  the  Bishop  of 
Salisbury  was  Chancellor  of  the  kingdom  (1139),+  and  at  the 
Synod  of  Rouen  (i  119),  a  law  had  to  be  enacted  prohibiting  the 
secular  clergy  from  having  concubines,  an  abuse  which  was 
widespread  and  not  at  all  of  recent  date.||  The  Anglo-Norman 
clergy,  who  came  to  Ireland,  were  not  unworthy  to  be  associated 
with  these,  for  St.  Laurence  O'Toole  deprived  140  of  them  of 
power  to  officiate  in  his  diocese  because  of  their  incontinence, 
and  directed  them  to  go  to  Rome  for  absolution.**  If  such  men 
were  to  reform  the  Irish  Church,  it  was  only  just  to  ask  that  they 
should  begin  by  reforming  themselves. 

After  the  death  of  Laurence  O'Toole  the  see  of  Dublin  was 
left  vacant  for  nearly  a  year.  The  Chapter  could  not  proceed 
to  elect  a  successor  without  the  King's  conge-d'elire,  and  the 
King  saw  no  special  urgency  for  filling  the  vacant  see.  Its 
revenues  were  not  so  large  as  some  of  the  English  bishoprics, 
yet  they  were  not  inconsiderable,  and  they  were  appropriated  by 
Henry  as  long  as  the  see  was  vacant.  But  in  September,  1181, 
the  King's  licence  was  issued  to  the  Dublin  Chapter,  but  he 
took  good  care  to  have  his  own  nominee  selected  ;  the  Chapter 
were  summoned  to  meet  at  the  Benedictine  Abbey  of  Evesham, 
in  Worcestershire,  and  under  royal  pressure  which  they  were 
powerless  to  resist  they  selected  a  monk  of  that  abbey,  an 
Englishman,  named  John  Comyn.  Henry  wanted  no  Irish 
Archbishop,  no  man  whose  sympathies  would  be  with  the  natives, 
who,  like  Laurence,  would  resent  their  being  treated  with  in- 
justice, who  would  stand  forth  as  their  champion  and  boldly 
challenge  their  oppressors.  The  new  Archbishop  was  after  the 
King's  own  heart.    He  was  not  even  a  priest — only  a  deaconff — 

*  Ordericus    Vitalis,   Vol.  II.,  p.    52. 

t  Ibid.,  Vol.j  II.,  p.  429 

X  Ibid..  Vol.   IV.,  p.   210. 

II  Ibid.,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.   29-30. 

**  Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  241-2.  They  must  have  been  all,  or  nearly 
all,  Anglo-Normans,  as  this  occurred  in  1179,  and  neither  at  the  Synod 
of  Cashel  or  at  any  other  Synod  up  to  that  date,  was  there  any  evidence 
that  the  Irish  priests  were  incontinent  ;  one  of  the  decrees  of  Comyn's  Synod 
— the  1 3  th — shows  the  contrary  (Vid  D' Alton's  Archbishops  of  Dublin  p.  74): 

If  Stokes'  Ireland  and  the  Anglo-N orman  Church,  pp.  206-9.  He 
was  ordained  priest,  March  13th,  '82.  Consecrated  bishop,  March  21st. 
Giraldus  says  he  was  made  Cardinal,  but  this  is  a  mistake.  (Harris's  Ware^ 
Vol.   I.,  pp.  314-15-) 


THE   ANGLO-NORMANS    AND   THE   CHURCH.  267 

he  was  Henry's  supporter  in  the  struggle  with  a  Beckett,  he  had 
gone  to  Rome  more  than  once  to  negotiate  on  the  King's  hehalf, 
he  held  high  civil  employment,  he  had  even  gone  circuit  as  judge. 
He  was  a  courtier  and  a  diplomatist,  rather  than  an  ecclesiastic 
desirous  only  of  discharging  his  spiritual  duties  ;  and  such  little 
regard  had  he  for  his  obligations  that  he  continued  to  reside  in 
England  after  his  election  had  been  ratified  by  the  Pope  ;  nor 
was  it  until  the  autumn  of  1184,  three  years  after  his  election, 
that  he  set  foot  in  his  diocese  of  Dublin.  Nor  did  he,  after  coming 
to  Ireland,  remain  there  but,  on  the  contrary,  spent  much  of 
his  time  in  England.  He  was  there  in  1 186,  two  years  later  ;  he 
was  in  Normandy  as  an  intermediary  between  Henry  H.  and 
his  son,  Richard  ;  he  was  at  the  coronation  of  Richard  (1189), 
and  later  on  (1199),  at  the  coronation  of  John  ;  and  while  he 
was  thus  engaged  and  absent  from  his  diocese,  the  episcopal 
duties  were  discharged  at  Dublin  by  some  neighbouring  bishop, 
perhaps  by  some  native  bishop,  who  had  episcopal  orders 
but  no  diocese.  One  Synod  he  held  (1186)  at  which 
many  salutary  decrees  were  passed  in  relation  to  the  cele- 
bration of  Mass  and  the  administration  of  the  Sacra- 
ments and  also  prohibitions  against  simony  and  incon- 
tinence, and  this  is  the  only  evidence  we  have  that  he 
troubled  himself  about  the  spiritual  administration  of  his 
diocese.*  But  if  he  neglected  the  spiritual  duties  he  enlarged 
the  temporal  possessions  of  his  see.  He  got  large  grants  of  lands, 
he  was  the  recipient  of  many  privileges  from  the  kings,  he  had 
the  see  of  Glendalough  annexed  to  Dublin,  and  he  also  grasped 
the  abbey  of  Glendalough  and  all  its  lands.f  He  was  created  a 
baron  of  Parliament,  he  had  the  powers  of  a  lord  palatine  and 
set  up  Courts  and  had  his  sheriffs  and  seneschals  and  even  his 
gallows  for  the  execution  of  criminals^  ;  and  he  resented  with 
vigour  and  energy  any  encroachment  on  his  powers,  either  by 
the  Mayor  of  Dublin  or  the  King's  Viceroy. || 

Comyn's  successors  were  of  the  same  character  as  himself. 
Their  names  indicate  their  origin — De  Londres,  De  Sandtord, 
De  Derlington,  De  Hotham,  De  Ferrings,  De  Bicknor — there 
is  nothing  Irish  in  the  sound  of  these  names.  Ot  the  twenty- 
three  Archbishops  from  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Reformation,  not 
one  was   Irish.**   Previous   to  his  appointment  as  Archbishop 

*  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  316-17. 

t  Stokes,   pp.    216-17. 

X  Ibid.,  pp.   219-20. 

II  His  quarrels  with  Hamon  de  Valoynes  the  Viceroy,  were  so  serious 
that  Comyn  excommunicated  his  opponent j  and  at  length  the  Pope,  Innocent 
III.,  had  to  intervene;     (Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.  57.) 

**  Stokes,  p.  205; 


268  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND, 

of  Dublin,  De  Lond res  was  Archdeacon  of  Stafford,*  his  successor 
was  Dean  of  St.  Martins  le  Grand,  at  London,  De  Sandford 
was  Archdeacon  of  Middlesex,!  and  it  was  the  same  story  with 
the  rest  of  them — all  were  English.  If,  perchance,  they  were 
born  in  Ireland,  they  were  none  the  less  English — English  in 
descent,  in  speech,  in  manners,  in  prejudices,  not  understanding 
the  Irish,  nor  caring  to  understand  them,  having  no  sympathy 
with  them,  and  regarding  their  language  and  manners  as  that 
of  a  rude  people  and  an  inferior  race.  Successive  English  Kings 
took  care  to  have  an  Archbishop  at  Dublin  who  was  in  sympathy 
with  their  views,  and  even  agents  in  carrying  out  their  policy. 
And  whenever  possible  it  was  the  same  elsewhere.  In  Armagh 
English  power  was  of  slower  growth,  English  influence  could 
not  make  itself  so  much  felt,  but  the  intrigues  of  English  kings 
were  incessant,  their  influence  was  great,  nor  were  their  efforts 
always  unsuccessful  ;  and  if  among  the  list  of  Primates  we  find 
the  distinctively  Irish  names  of  O'Scanlan  (1261-70),  and 
MacMolissa  (1272-1303),  we  find  also  the  names  of  Taafe 
(•1305-6),  and  De  Jorse  (i 306-11),  and  FitzRalph  (1347-60), 
which  are  as  distinctively  English. J  Even  in  Tuam,  which 
was  so  much  farther  removed  from  Dublin,  English  influence 
was  felt,  and  when  the  archbishopric  became  vacant  in  1235, 
the  Dean  and  Chapter  reported  the  vacancy  to  Henry  III.,  and 
prayed  foi  the  issue  of  a  conge  d'elire  and  when  granting  it, 
Henry  directs  them  to  chose  a  man  able  to  rule  the  church, 
faithful  to  the  King  and  useful  to  the  kingdom. ||  Edward  I. 
gave  a  licence  to  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  Achonry  (1286),  to 
elect  a  successor  to  Denis,  late  Bishop  of  Achonry,*  *  and  similar 
licences  were  given  about  the  same  time  for  electing  a  bishop 
at  Ardfert,  an  archbishop  at  Cashel,  and  a  bishop  at  Killaloe, 
Elphin,  Ross,  and  Clonmacnoise.ft  As  lord  paramount  of  the 
Irish  chiefs  the  King  claimed  the  right  to  interfere  in  all  these 
episcopal  elections  and  for  the  same  reason,  when  Henry  II. 
was  making  his  grants  of  lands  to  the  Anglo-Norman 
lords,  he  specially  reserved  for  himself  and  his  successors 
the  appointment  of  bishops,  or  at  least  the  right  to 
interfere  when    such     appointments    were   being    made.:{:J      His 

*  D'Alton's  Archbishops  of  Dublin,  p.  79. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  95. 

X  Ware's  Bishops    {Archbishops    of    Armagh.) 

II  Stokes,  p.   314. 

**  Calendar  of  State  Papers  (1285-92),  (Sweetman)j  pp.  107-8.  The 
King's  request  was  that  the  chapter  should  elect  a  devout  marij  fit  to  rule 
the  Church  and  be  faithful  to  the  King.  The  piety  of  these  Kings,-  as 
shown  in  the  State  Papers,  is  remarkable. 

ft  Ibid.,  Preface. 

XX  Mant^    History  of  the  Church  of  Ireland,  Vol.  I.,  p.  9: 


THE  ANGLO-NORMANS  AND  THE  CHURCH.         269 

expectation  was    that  they  would  be  of  assistance  in  carrying 
out  his  policy. 

In  some  cases,  notwithstanding  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  appointed,  these  bishops  displayed  a  sturdiness  of  spirit 
little  to  the  taste  of  English  kings.  They  protested  against 
the  practice  of  the  King  taking  possession  of  the  temporalities 
of  a  see,  while  the  see  was  vacant.  They  protested  against 
their  tenants  suing  in  the  secular  courts,  at  least  without  the 
Pope's  consent.  The  Archbishop  of  Armagh  and  his  suffragans 
entered  into  a  compact  to  protect  each  other  against  encroach 
ments  from  any  lay  power  or  jurisdiction.*  And  when  the 
Parliament  of  Kilkenny  (1346),  granted  a  subsidy  to  Edward  III. 
for  state  purposes,  the  Archbishop  of  Cashel  opposed  its  being 
levied  within  his  province,  and  with  his  suffragan  bishops  decreed 
that  any  of  their  clergy  who  should  contribute  were  ipso  facto 
deprived  of  their  benefices,  and  the  laity  who  were  their  tenants 
and  who  subscribed  should  be  ipso  facto  excommunicated. 
They  even  went  beyond  this  and  excommunicated  all  those 
who  had  granted  the  subsidy  itself.f  Such  boldness  was 
displayed  chiefly,  if  not  solely,  by  those  of  Irish  birth,  whose 
sympathies  were  Irish  and  who  viewed  with  disfavor  and  distrust 
the  arrogance  of  a  foreign  king.  And  so  displeasing  was 
their  conduct  that  it  was  declared  expedient  by  the  King,  that 
Irishmen  should  never  be  archbishops  or  bishops,  because  they 
always  preach  against  the  King  and  provide  their  churches 
with  Irishmen  to  maintain  their  language.^  With  those  of 
English  birth  or  descent  there  was  rarely  any  such  trouble. 
It  is  not  the  dress  that  makes  the  monk  :  the  courtier  raised 
to  the  episcopate,  remained  a  courtier  still.  His  worldly  spirit, 
his  ambition,  his  servility  to  his  royal  master  remained,  and 
under  the  bishop's  mitre  and  the  episcopal  robes,  the  time  server 
and  the  place  hunter  could  be  discerned.  And  their  pliancy 
was  rewarded.  They  were  trusted  and  favoured  by  successive 
English  kings  ;  they  filled  great  civil  offices  ;  and  more  than 
one  bishop  filled  the  highest  office  in  the  land,  the  office  of 
Viceroy. 

What  manner  of  men  these  were  we  can  learn  from  the 
life  and  acts  of  Henry  de  Londres.  Where  he  was  born,  or 
when,  or  where  he  was  educated,  we  do  not  know.  But  he 
was  certainly  English,  his  abilities  were  of  a  high  order ; 
he  was  educated  for  the  Church,  and  took  at  least  some  Orders, 


*  Mant,  History  of  the  Church   of  Ireland,  Vol.  I.^  pp.    15-16; 
f  Mant,  p.  18.      The  names  of  these  bishops,  Mac  Molissa  in  Armaghj 
and  Kelly  in  Cashel  indicate  their  nationality  (Ware's  Bishops.) 
X  Sweetman's  Calendar,  pp.  9-103 


270  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

SO  as  to  be  qualified  for  Church  preferment.  Like  many  others 
so  educated  he  was  but  little  employed  in  ecclesiastical  offices  ; 
his  abilities  attracted  the  notice  of  King  John,  who  had  little 
talent  himself  but  appreciated  it  in  others  and  was  ready  to 
make  use  of  it  ;  and  De  Londres  from  time  to  time  was  called 
to  fill  many  civil  offices  by  his  sovereign.  He  went  through 
Berkshire,  as  judge  of  Assize  (1199),*  and  some  years  later  was 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  King's  Bench  at  Westminster.  He 
was  ambassador  to  the  King  of  Navarre  (1201),  and  later  on 
to  Otho  of  Germany  and  his  nobles  ;  and  he  was  sent  to  Ireland 
(12C4),  to  negotiate  on  the  King's  part  with  Cahal  Crovderg 
O'Connor.  In  the  dispute  between  the  King  and  the  Pope  he 
acted  as  the  King's  envoy  and  did  his  best  to  reconcile  them. 
John  had  much  patronage  in  his  hands,  and  it  was  by  this 
means  he  rewarded  De  Londres.  He  gave  him  a  church  living 
in  London  (1202),  two  years  later,  he  got  another  at  Norwich, 
and  yet  another  at  Coventry,  and  these  were  added  to,  in  the 
next  year,  by  the  addition  of  two  more  church  livings.  Nor 
was  he  yet  satisfied,  for  in  1207,  he  got  a  prebend  at  Exeter 
and  another  at  Leicester,  and  in  the  next  year  he  was  made 
Archdeacon  of  Stafford  and  also  Dean  of  Shrewsbury,  and 
finally,  on  the  death  of  John  Comyn  (12 12),  he  became  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin.  Even  in  Dublin  he  kept  all  his  church  livings 
in  England  and  even  got  an  addition — the  Deanery  of  Penkridge, 
in  Staffordshire — the  ecclesiastical  duties  attached  to  these 
offices  being  performed  by  deputy.  The  revenues  of  the  See 
of  Dublin  had  been  greatly  augmented  by  Comyn,  and  besides 
there  were  the  revenues  of  the  See  and  Abbey  of  Glendalough, 
yet  such  was  the  rapacious  avarice  of  De  Londres  that  he  wished 
for  more,  and  resorted  to  at  least  one  dishonest  trick  for  which 
history  has  justly  affixed  a  stigma  on  his  memory.  He  summoned 
all  his  ecclesiastical  tenants  in  Dublin  before  him,  directing 
them  to  bring  all  papers,  leases,  titles,  and  such  like  with  them, 
which  demonstrated  the  nature  of  their  rights  to  the  lands  they 
held,  and  when  he  had  got  possession  of  all  such  papers,  in  the 
very  presence  of  these  outraged  and  disgusted  tenants,  he  threw 
the  documents  into  the  fire.f  His  evident  object  was  to  have 
these  tenants  at  his  mercy,  so  that  he  could  impose  on  them 
what  terms  he  pleased.  For  this  act  he  was  nicknamed 
"scorch-villein,"  and  earned  the  just  execration  of  all.  That 
such  a  man  should  claim  exemption  from  taxes  and  that  through 
his  bailiffs  he  should  even  seize  wines,  cloths  and  victuals  be- 
longing to    the  citizens  and  not  pay  for  them  J  will  excite  no 

*  Stokes,  p.   254.      Ware's  Bishops. 

•}•  Ware's  Bishops. 

\  Gilbert's  Historic    and    Municipal    Documents-,  p;  74: 


THE   ANGLO-NORMANS   AND  THE   CHURCH.  27 1 

surprise  for  the  passion  of  avarice  carries  men  far.  But  for  a 
courtier  and  a  favourite,  who  had  so  long  studied  the  caprices 
of  kings,  we  are  a  little  surprised  that  he  should  encroach  on 
the  royal  prerogatives,  in  having  lay  cases  tried  in  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal courts,  in  having  a  pillory  erected  on  the  public  highway, 
and  having  gone  so  far  in  this  direction,  that  Henry  III.  declared 
his  proceedings  were  strange  and  even  incredible.*  From 
12 1 3  to  121 5,  and  again  from  12 19  to  1224,  he  was  Viceroy  of 
Ireland.  A  man  who  filled  so  m^any  offices  and  was  much 
concerned  with  civil  affairs  had  but  little  time  for  purely  spiritual 
duties,  yet  he  sometimes  remembered  he  was  a  bishop.  He 
attended  the  council  ot  Lateran  (121 5),  and  he  held  a  Synod 
at  Dublin  (12 17),  at  which  stringent  regulations  were  made 
as  to  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  their  attendance  at  Synods, 
the  visitation  of  the  sick,  and  the  ceremonies  to  be  employed 
by  priests  when  so  engaged. f  Like  Antiochus,  perhaps,  in 
his  old  age,  he  remembered  the  evils  he  had  done,  rightly 
thinking  that  while  he  could  not  altogether  neglect  temporal 
concerns,  yet,  that  in  attending  to  his  spiritual  duties  he  was 
more   profitably   employed. 

While  the  Anglo-Norman  lords  were  precluded  from  inter- 
fering in  episcopal  elections,  still  their  influence  on  the  destinies 
of  the  Church  was  great.  Like  their  countrymen  in  England 
and  Normandy,  each  of  these  adventurers  was  ambitious  to 
build  churches  and  found  monasteries,  and  they  began  by 
destroying  the  churches  already  in  existence.  After  the  synod 
in  Dublin  at  which  Vivian  presided  (1177),  it  may  be  assumed 
that  the  practice  of  storing  provisions  in  the  churches  became 
less  common,  but  with  the  obstinacy  which  was  one  of  their 
peculiarities  the  people  sometimes  did  so,  hoping  that  the  churches 
would  be  respected.  But  the  Anglo-Normans  were  bent  on 
plunder  as  well  as  conquest,  and  were  not  willing  that  even  the 
churches  should  be  spared.  They  were  counselled  to  pay  a 
fair  price  for  whatever  they  took — the  wolf  was  allowed  into 
the  sheepfold,  but  was  told  to  treat  the  sheep  with  tenderness, 
and  the  counsel  was  hearkened  to  as  might  be  expected.  De 
Courcy  plundered  the  churches  of  Ulster  on  his  march  and  took 
the  Bishop  of  Down  prisoner  (1177),  J  FitzAdelm  de  Burgho 
burned  Armagh  (1179),  including  all  the  houses  of  the  Canons 
Regular  and  all  the  churches,  except  the  house  of  the  Canons 
Regular    ot   St.    Bridget,   and   the   church   of   the   relics. ||     His 


*  Gilbert's    Historic    and    Municipal    Documents,  pp.  75-78. 

t  D'Alton's    Archbishops  of  Dublin,  p.  85.       Stokes,  p.  267,  note. 

X  Lanigan,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  232-3. 

II  Stuart's   Historical   Memoirs  of  Armagh   (ed.,  Coleman),  p.  8$. 


272  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

descendant  William  de  Burgho  imitated  his  violence  in  Connaught 
(in  1 202),  preyed  and  spoiled  the  Abbey  of  Knockmoy  of  all  things 
whatsoever,  both  great  and  small,  and  then  marched  through 
Connaught  plundering  all  the  churches  on  his  march.*  And 
Philip  of  Worcester  wasted  Armagh  (1184),  for  six  days  in  suc- 
cession, exacted  heavy  fines  from  the  clergy,  and  to  such  an 
extent  was  everything  portable  or  of  any  value  interfered  with, 
that  even  a  large  cauldron,|  or  brewing  pan  was  carried  away. 
Lest  the  provisions  which  the  churches  contained  should  fall 
into  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  the  Irish  destroyed  the  churches 
themselves,  and  thus  attacked  both  by  native  and  foreigner, 
of  all  buildings  the  churches  fared  worst,  and,  roofless, 
empty  and  desolate,  they  marked  the  track  of  the  invader. 
It  is  seldom  and  with  reluctance  that  Giraldus  has  anything 
harsh  to  say  of  his  own  countrymen,  but  he  has  to  confess  that 
they  not  only  neglected  to  make  any  offering  to  the  Church 
of  Christ,  not  only  are  the  honours  and  thanks  due  to  God  un- 
acknowledged by  any  gift  of  the  prince  and  his  followers,  but 
the  Church  was^robbed  of  its  land  and  possessions,  and  its  ancient 
rights  and  privileges  were  annulled.  I  The  poor  clergy  are 
reduced  to  beggary.  The  Cathedral  Churches  which  were 
richly  endowed  with  broad  lands  by  the  piety  of  the  faithful 
in  old  times  now  echo  with  lamentations  for  that  ot  which  they 
have  been  robbed  by  these  men  and  others,  who  came  over 
with  them,  or  after  them,  so  that  to  uphold  the  Church  is  turned 
into  spoiling  and  robbing  it.||  Over  large  tracts  of  the  country 
all  that  remained  of  these  churches,  founded  by  the  piety  of 
past  ages,  were  some  blackened  and  sightless  ruins. 

After  sin  comes  repentance,  and  after  these  deeds  of  violence 
and  sacrilege,  the  Anglo-Normans  began  to  consider  that  it 
was  time  to  repair  the  ravages  they  had  done.  They  set  about 
the  task  in  characteristic  Norman  fashion.  The  Irish  they 
heartily  despised — their  soldiers,  their  arms,  their  tactics,  or 
rather  want  of  tactics,  in  war,  their  language  and  manners 
the  style  of  their  buildings,  even  their  saints  did  not  escape 
criticism,  and  Giraldus  declares  that  these  Irish  saints  were  of 
a  vindictive  temper.**  St.  Patrick  indeed  they  revered,  and 
not  even  the  most  enthusiastic,  or  the  most  credulous,  among- 
the  Irish  have  multiplied  his  miracles  to  such  an  extent  as  Jocelin, 

*  Annals  of  Clonntacnoise. 

t  Stuart's  Armagh,  p.  87.  Tirell,  who  took  away  the  cauldron,  was 
struck  with  horror  and  restored  it,  "  but  afterwards  perished  in  a  miserable 
manner." 

X  Cambrensts,  p.   318.      The  prince  in  question  is   John: 

il  Ibid.,  p.    176. 

**  Ibid-i  p.    III-. 


THE   ANGLO-NORMANS   AND   THE   CHURCH.  273 

the  monk  of  Furness  :*  and  his  master,  De  Courcy,  whatever 
he  may  have  thought  of  St.  Columba,  made  good  use  of  his 
name  in  his  invasion  of  Ulster,  and  appealed  to  the  reverence 
and  fears  of  the  natives,  as  the  knight  foretold  in  the  Saint's 
prophecy.  But  of  that  large  number  of  pious  men,  who  were 
reverenced  by  the  people  as  saints,  and  whose  live?  had  made 
sacred  so  many  hills  and  glens  and  wells  and  streams — ^all  such 
as  these  the  Anglo-Normans  either  ignored  or  despised.  Out  of 
the  stones  of  the  ruined  churches  they  would  build  new 
churches  and  monasteries,  but  it  would  be  under  the  patronage 
of  their  own  Norman  Saints,  it  was  their  names  the  churches 
would  bear,  it  was  Norman  Orders  of  monks  that  would  inhabit 
the  monasteries,  and  the  buildings  themselves  would  be  modelled 
on  the  well-known  principles  of  Norman  architecture.!  When 
De  Courcy  took  possession  of  Down,  he  drove  the  secular  Canons 
from  the  place  and  established  in  their  stead  a  Benedictine 
monastery  with  monks  from  St.  Werburgs  in  Chester.  The 
Benedictine  abbey  of  Corrig  he  filled  with  monks  from  Furness 
in  Lancashire,  and  the  priory  of  Neddrum,  in  the  same  county 
he  made  subject  to  St.  Bega's  abbey,  in  Cumberland.  I  De 
Lacy  established  a  monastery  at  Duleek  of  the  Canons  Regular 
of  St.  Augustine  but  made  them  subject  to  that  of  Llanthony, 
in  Monmouthshire  ;  and  when  Geoffrey  FitzRobert  established 
a  house  of  the  same  Order  at  Kells  in  Kilkenny,  he  brought 
the  monks  from  Bodmin  in  Cornwall. ||  During  the  twelfth 
and  thirteenth  centuries,  these  Anglo-Normans  founded  in 
Ireland  seven  monasteries  filled  with  the  Regular  Canons  of 
St.  Victor,  seven  more  filled  with  the  Premonstre  Canons ; 
and  of  the  Cruciferii,  or  Crutched  Friars,  an  Order  evolved  out 
of  the  Regular  Canons  of  St.  Augustine  but  of  a  stricter  dis- 
cipline, there  were  thirteen  houses  founded.  Of  the  Benedictine 
Order  there  were  founded  thirteen  monasteries  and  convents, 
and  of  the  military  order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  there  were 
seventeen  houses.**  These  orders  were  all  of  foreign  origin  ; 
they  were  unfamiliar  to  the  Irish,  and  they  were  in  every  case 
filled  with  English,  or  at  least  ruled  by  those  of  English  sym- 
pathies and  English  extraction. 

At    the    Anglo-Norman    invasion,    there    were    nearly     200 
monasteries    and  convents  in  Ireland  living  under  the  rule  of 

*  He  wrote  the  Life  and  Acts  of  St.  Patrick  in  Latin  ;    it  has  been 
translated  into  English  by  Swift  (1809). 

t  The  same  might  be  said  of  England,  where  Norman  influence  was 
predominant  and  nowhere  more  so  than  in  the  Church. 

X  Lanigan,  IV.,  pp.  253-4. 

II  Ibid.,  p.   321. 

**  Harris's  Ware^  Vol.  II.5  pp.  270-3. 

T 


274  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

St.  Augustine.  To  say  that  they  were  all  Augustinian  monks 
and  nuns  would  be  indefinite  and  misleading,  for  St.  Augustine 
drew  up  no  Rule,  in  the  same  sense  that  St.  Benedict  did,  but 
he  recommended  some  women  under  his  direction  to  live  in 
community  and  to  renounce  private  property,  and  in  time  the 
idea  was  borrowed  and  put  in  practice  by  priests.  They  were 
originally  Canons  of  Cathedrals,  who  lived  in  community,  but 
did  not  renounce  private  property,  nor  constantly  follow  any 
rule.  For  such  there  were  many  decrees  of  Popes  and  Councils 
directing  them  to  live  under  a  rule  and  to  renounce  private 
property,  which  many,  but  not  all,  did.  Those  who  did  were  called 
Regular  Canons  of  St.  Augustine.  The  vast  majority  of  the 
monasteries  in  Ireland,  founded  by  the  old  Irish  saints  as  far 
back  as  the  sixth  century,  gradually  adopted  this  rule,  and  before 
the  twelfth  century  these  inmates  were  known  as  Canons  Regular 
of  St.  Augustine.  They  were  not  secular  priests,  as  they  lived 
in  community  and  had  no  private  property,  yet  they  were 
charged  with  the  duties  of  the  mission,  and  so  far  were  ap- 
proximated to  the  secular  priests.  As  they  were  already 
popular  in  England,  they  were  countenanced  and  patronised 
and  in  many  cases  richly  endowed  by  the  Anglo-Normans ; 
and  no  fewer  than  nine  priors  of  these  monasteries  had  seats 
in   the   Irish    Parliament.* 

But  of  all  the  Irish  monasteries  there  was  no  Order  so 
favoured  by  the  foreigners  and  none  which  acquired  such  in- 
fluence and  power  as  the  Cistercians.  An  offshoot  of  the 
Benedictine  Order,  the  Cistercian  was  founded  in  the  eleventh 
century  by  those  of  the  Benedictines  who  saw  with  regret  its 
former  strictness  and  fervour  degenerate  into  laxness,  and  who 
wished  to  be  members  of  an  Order  with  a  stricter  discipline. 
The  new  Order,  with  its  headquarers  at  Citeaux,  rapidly  increased, 
but  at  no  time  was  its  fame  greater  than  when  it  numbered  St. 
Bernard  among  its  members.  He  joined  the  Order  at  Citeaux 
^i  1 13),  and  such  was  the  ardor  with  which  he  mortified  himself, 
such  the  rapidity  with  which  he  increased  in  virtue,  such  the 
administrative  ability  he  showed,  that  though  only  25  years  old, 
and  but  two  years  in  the  Community,  he  was  permitted  by  his 
superiors  to  leave  Citeaux  with  twelve  companions  and  established 
a  new  house  of  the  Order  at  Clairvaux.  He  loved  to  commune 
with  nature,  with  the  trees  and  rocks  and  hills,  believing  that 
they  could   teach   him   more   than    any   masters   could  :  f    and 

*  Catholic  Dictionary.  These  nine  were  the  priors  of  Christ  Church 
and  All  Hallows  (Dublin)  of  Connell,  Kells,  Louth,  Athassel^  Killagh, 
Newtown  and  Raphoe. 

f  St.  Bernard}s  Works.  Translated  by  Eales,  Vol.  I.,  p.  353  (Letter  to 
Henry  Murdoch^.- 


THE   ANGLO-NORMANS   AND  THE   aiURCH.  275 

in  his  new  home  his  love  was  gratified.  Situated  in  the  diocese 
of  Langres,  between  two  mountains  and  in  a  valley,  wild,  gloomy 
and  thickwooded,  the  monks  had  to  undergo  many  hardships. 
They  dug  and  ploughed,  they  pulled  up  the  useless  shrubs,  and 
planted  in  their  stead  the  oak,  the  lime  tree,  the  ash  and  the 
beech.  The  stream  which  ran  through  the  valley  they  divided 
into  channels,  to  irrigate  their  garden,  to  supply  the  necessities 
of  their  various  workshops,  to  turn  their  mill-wheel.  The 
monks  built  their  own  cells,  as  they  did  the  abbey  itself  ;  they 
fished  in  the  stream  ;  they  ground  their  corn  ;  they  baked  their 
bread  ;  they  brewed  their  own  beer;  they  cultivated  their  orchard 
and  their  garden  ;  and  under  their  skilful  and  patient  toil  the 
trees  grew  fast  and  bore  fruit  in  abundance,  and  one  side  ot  the 
mountain,  hitherto  barren,  became  fertile  with  vineyards  and 
the  other  fertile  with  corn.*  When  St.  Malachy  of  Armagh 
visited  the  place,  more  than  twenty  years  after  its  foundation, 
his  pious  soul  was  charmed  with  everything  he  saw — the  quietness 
and  peace  of  the  valley,  the  serenity  of  the  monks,  their  life 
of  austerity  and  labour  and  prayer,  their  contentment  with 
the  coarse  food  they  ate  and  the  coarse  garments  they  wore 
their  thankfulness  to  God  for  what  they  possessed,  for  the 
water  that  rushed  through  the  valley,  for  the  shade  afforded 
by  the  trees,  for  the  colours  and  scent  of  the  flowers  that  bloomed. 
His  wish  was  to  remain  there  himself,  but  as  this  could  not  be 
done  he  sent  two  monks  from  Ireland  to  be  trained  under  St. 
Bernard,  and  after  an  interval,  they,  with  others  from  Clairvaux, 
returned  to  Ireland  and  founded  (1141),  the  first  Cistercian 
monastery  at  Mellifont.f  In  sending  them  St.  Bernard  said 
he  was  sending  a  little  seed,J  and  the  seed  quickly  developed 
and  produced  fruit.  The  Benedictines  loved  to  build  their 
monasteries  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains  ;  the  Cistercians  by 
contrast  loved  the  valleys,  and  Mellitont,  like  Clairvaux,  was 
built  in  a  valley,  its  situation  being  on  the  river  Mattock,  some 
three  or  four  miles  west  of  Drogheda,  just  bordering  on  the 
county  of  Meath,  being  itself  in  Louth.  To  the  Irish,  who  had 
seen  their  own  monasteries  decay,  and  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice 
grow  feeble  among  their  monks,  the  new  Order  was  hailed  with 
welcome.  Their  poverty,  their  labour,  their  abstemious  diet, 
their  coarse  white  garment— emblem  of  their  puirty — their 
deep  spirit  of  prayer,  their  entire  detachment  from  the  world 
their  devotion  to  the  Mother  of  God — always  so  popular  in 
Ireland — attracted    the    admiration    and    esteem    of    aL.     The 

*  Si.  Bernard's  Works,  Vol.  ll.,  pp.  460-7. 

I  Mellifont  is  described  and  its  history  given  in  a  little  book  of  45  pages 
■ '  Mellifont  Abbey  ;    its  rise  and  downfall"  by  an  unknown  author. 
\  St.  Bernard's  Works,  Vol.  ll.,  p.  897.     (Letter  to  St.  Malachy). 


2/6  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

native  chiefs  became  eager  to  found  and  endow  one  of  these 
monasteries  on  their  own  territories  ;  the  Anglo-Norman  lords 
were  equally  zealous  ;  and  in  little  more  than  half  a  century 
40  Cistercian  monasteries  were  spread  throughout  the  land.* 
Wealth  and  worldly  power  will  always  corrupt  the  morals 
and  weaken  the  fervour  of  religious  communities,  and  these 
baneful  influences  were  soon  at  work  within  the  walls  of  the 
Cistercian  monasteries.  The  generous  donation  of  lands  soon 
placed  them  beyond  the  necessity  of  labouring  for  their  support ; 
they  no  longer  dug  and  ploughed  as  of  old,  but  employed  labourers 
instead,  and  the  priors  of  their  monasteries,  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  spiritual  peers,  became  statesmen  and  politicians.  St.  Bernard 
saw  with  disfavour,  and  even  with  horror,  an  abbot  going  forth 
with  a  retinue  of  60  horsemen  ;  f  he  could  not  understand  how 
the  same  person  could  be  clothed  in  armour  and  march  at 
the  head  of  armed  soldiers  and  then,  having  laid  aside  his  armour 
and  vested  in  alb  and  stole,  read  the  Gospel  in  the  midst  of  the 
church,  at  one  time  give  the  signal  for  battle  with  the  trumpet, 
and  at  another  convey  the  orders  of  the  bishop  to  the  people  ; 
and  he  thought  it  was  no  part  of  clerical  duty  to  bear  arms  at 
the  pay  of  the  King,  nor  any  part  of  the  royal  duties  to 
administer  lay  affairs  by  means  of  clerics.  |  Yet,  a  century 
after  his  death,  these  things  were  seen  and  noted  among  the 
abbots  of  his  own  and  of  other  monasteries  in  Ireland.  To  the 
penal  enactments  against  the  Irish  and  the  proscription  attached 
to  their  language  and  dress  and  manners,  the  abbots  of  Mellifont 
and  their  brethren  of  Baltinglass  and  Dunbrody  and  Jerpoint 
and  Bective  were  consenting  parties.  ||  The  Prior  of  the 
Augustinian  monastery  at  Conal  held  high  military  command, 
and  was  as  ready  and  as  quick  to  slaughter  the  Irish  as  Strongbow 
or  Raymond  le  Gros  ;  and  the  warlike  proclivities  of  this  prior 
were  not  unusual.  English  King  and  Irish  Viceroy  displayed 
the  keenest  anxiety  to  have  these  Abbots  and  Priors  English, 
at  least  in  sympathy,  if  not  by  birth  ;  the  abbot  in  turn  looked 
askance  at  native  monks  in  their  monasteries  and  often  denied 
admittance  to  native  born.  A  statute  was  passed  at  Kilkenny 
(11310),  prohibiting  religious  houses  in  the  English  parts  of 
Ireland  from  admitting  as  a  member  of  their  community  anyone 
except  of  English  blood.  A  few  years  later  (1322),  it  was  again 
ordered  that  no  one  should  be  admitted  into  the  Abbey  of 
Mellifont,  unless  he  could  swear  that  he  was  of  English  descent. 


*  Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  11.;  pp.  274-6. 

t  Works,  Vol.  I.,  p.  278,  note.   (Letter  to  the  Abbot  of  St.  Denis). 

+  litd.  Vol.  I.,  pp.  285-6. 

II  They  were  members  of  the  Parliaments  which  enacted  such  laws. 


THE   ANGLO-NORMANS   AND   THE   CHURCH,  277 

The  Kilkenny  Statute  was  repealed  by  Edward  II.,  and  at  a 
general  chapter  of  the  Cistercian  Order  the  decree  regarding 
Mellifont  was  described  as  damnable,  and  abbots  were  warned 
to  admit  worthy  members,  no  matter  what  their  nation.*  In 
the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  it  was  necessary  to  call 
in  the  aid  of  the  mendicant  Orders  —  the  Dominicans  and 
Franciscans,  and  Carmelites — for  in  too  many  cases  the  Cistercian 
and  Augustine  Canons  appeared  to  have  neither  the  leisure 
nor  the  inclination  to  confine  themselves  to  spiritual  concerns. 

In  his  letter,  or  Remonstrance  to  the  Pope  (131 5),  Donal 
O'Neill  had  much  complaint  to  make  against  these  Anglo-Irish 
ecclesiastics — ^bishops,  abbots  and  monks.  He  complains  of 
the  statute  just  referred  to  which  was  passed  at  Kilkenny,  and 
reminds  the  Pope  that  "  the  monasteries  for  monks  and  Canons 
from  which  in  modern  times  the  Irish  are  thus  repulsed  were 
founded  for  the  most  part  by  themselves. "|  Not  merely  the 
lay  or  secular  English,  but  even  their  religious,  asserted  the 
doctrine  that  it  was  no  more  sin  to  kill  an  Irishman  than  a  dog, 
or  any  other  animal.  And  some  of  these  monks  af^rm  if  it 
were  to  happen  to  them,  as  it  often  does,  that  they  should  kill 
an  Irishman,  they  would  not  for  this  refrain  from  the  celebration 
of  Mass  for  a  single  day.  And  he  instances  the  case  of  monks 
of  the  Cistercian  Order  at  Granard  and  Inch,  who  publicly 
appeared  in  arms  and  slaughtered  the  Irish,  and  yet  celebrated 
their  Masses  notwithstanding.  A  century  and  a  half  after 
the  Invasion,  the  Irish  Church  might  be  described  as  in  an 
unhealthy  condition,  and  not  even  the  strongest  partisans  of 
the  Anglo-Normans  could  declare  that  the  cause  of  religion  or 
morality  had  advanced.  The  weeds  which  Henry  II.  was  to 
destroy  still  remained,  and  in  the  meantime  even  a  more  plentiful 
crop   had     grown. 

*  CoXj  Hibernia  Anglicana,  p.  100.  Stuart's  Armagh,  pp.  115-16,- 
(Coleman's  Supplementary  Notes).  It  seems  quite  evident  that  the  Irish 
and  English  monks  did  not  agree  :  and  it  is  only  fair  to  remark  that  if 
the  English  excluded  the  Irish,  the  Irish  in  turn  excluded  the  English 
from  their  own  monasteries.  {Letter  of  Edward  II.  to  the  Pope).  Stuart, 
p.    116. 

\  King's  Church  History  of  Ireland,  Vol.  III.j  pp.  11 19-35.- 


CHAPTER     XX. 

The  Invasion  of  Bruce. 

Friendly  relations  between  the  Irish  and  Scotch — Robert  Bruce  in  Ulster — 
The  Old  Irish — No  hope  of  unity  among  the  native  chiefs — Miserable 
condition  of  the  people — Donal  O'Neill  appeals  to  the  Pope — Edward 
Bruce  invited  to  Ireland — Arrives  in  Ulster — Joined  by  O'Neill — 
Overruns  the  north-east  of  Ulster — The  Anglo-Irish  lords  meet  at 
Kilkenny — Richard  de  Burgho  marches  into  Ulster — Bruce  and  Felim 
O'Connor — Bruce  defeats  De  Burgho  at  Connor — Roger  Mortimer 
near  Kells — And  Butler  near  Athy — Some  minor  defeats  of  the  Irish 
-Battle  of  Athenry — Bruce  captures  Carrickfergus — Arrival  of  King 
Robert  of  Scotland — The  Bruces  before  Dublin — March  to  Limerick 
but  retreat — Robert  Bruce  returns  to  Scotland — Battle  of  Faughart. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  relations 
between  the  native  Irish  and  the  Scots  were  those  of  sympathy 
and  friendship,  nor  was  this  friendship  recent,  either  in  origin 
or  growth.  The  Dalriadian  Scots,  who  left  Ireland  in  the  early 
part  of  the  sixth  century,  soon  obtained  a  firm  foothold  in  Scotland 
and  when  their  independence  was  recognised  at  the  Convention 
of  Drumcat,  they  increased  in  influence  and  power  until,  about 
the  middle  of  the  ninth  century,  Kenneth  MacAlpine,  having 
conquered  the  Picts,*  the  seat  of  government  was  transferred 
to  Dunkeld,  thence  to  Abernethy,  and  finally  to  Scone.  The 
two  races — the  Scots  and  Picts — coalesced  and  united  under  a 
single  chief,  and  Scotland  was  able  to  fight  long  and  successfully 
against  her  powerful  antagonist  in  the  South.  Similar  in  manners 
and  habits,  speaking  languages  one  of  which  was  but  a  dialect 
of  the  other,  drawn  together  by  the  recollection  of  their  common 
origin,  both  Irish  and  Scotch,  as  the  ages  passed,  regarded  each 
other  as  relatives  and  friends,  and  in  the  wars  between  England 
and  Scotland,  the  sympathy  of  Ireland  was  always  on  the  Scottish 
side.  This  sympathy  grew  in  intensity  after  the  Anglo-Norman 
invasion  of  Ireland.      Both  nations  were  then  fighting  the  same 


In  the  year  838,  according  to  Robertson.-    {History  of  Scotland): 


THE   INVASION   OF   BRUCL.  27Q 

enemy,  battling  against  the  same  threatened  subjugation,  suffer- 
ing the  same  manner  of  ills  from  the  same  hands.  The  attractive 
power  of  common  suffering  and  common  sorrow  is  strong  ;  and 
the  Irish  followed  with  interest  the  heroic  struggle  of  their 
kindred  across  the  water,  and  heard  with  unbounded  delight 
that  under  an  able  Scottish  leader,  opposed  by  an  incapable 
English  one.  victory  had  declared  at  Bannockburn  for  the  Scots, 
and  the  standard  of  the  English  had  gone  down. 

But  it  was  in  Ulster  especially  that  the  triumph  of  Bruce 
was  heard  of  with  the  greatest  exultation.  It  was  from  Ulster 
the  Scots  had  gone  in  the  sixth  century  to  Caledonia.*  The 
distance  across  from  Antrim  to  Cantire  was  small,  the  inter- 
course between  the  two  countries  was  frequent  ;  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  some  of  the  Ulster  Irish  aided  Bruce  in  his  wars  ; 
and  when  Robert  Bruce  met  with  temporary  defeat,  he  was 
sheltered  in  Ulster,  and  for  a  time  lived  at  Rathlin  Island,  off 
the  coast  of  Antrim.f  The  Ulster  chiefs,  with  Donal  O'Neill  at 
their  head,  asked  themselves  could  not  Ireland  follow  where 
Scotland  led,  could  not  she  also  assert  her  freedom,  and  in  doing 
so  could  she  not  appeal  for  aid,  and  with  confidence,  to  Bruce, 
who  had  already  struck  off  the  fetters  from  Scotland's  limbs. 
If  the  Irish  chiefs  could  even  then  suspend  their  quarrels  and 
cordially  unite  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  English  power  in 
Ireland,  they  might  perhaps  succeed,  but  it  was  useless  to  expect 
such  unity.  Three  centuries  had  passed  since  Clontarf,  but  never 
once,  during  that  period,  had  all  the  Irish  princes  united  for 
any  common  object,  and  they  were  still  as  disunited  as  ever. 
In  every  province  some  of  the  best  of  the  lands  had  already 
passed  under  English  sway.  The  old  Irish  in  the  conquered 
districts  were  reduced  to  a  state  worse  even  than  that  of  slaves  ; 
their  property  gone,  their  lives  and  liberty  insecure.  The  natives 
who  dwelt  near  the  English  settlers  were  for  ever  harassed  by 
military  expeditions,  not  knowing  the  day  nor  the  hour  when 
their  lands  would  be  seized  their  houses  destroyed,  their  lives 
sacrificed.  The  territories  over  which  the  native  chiefs  ruled 
were  gradually  shrinking  in  extent,  much  of  their  possessions 
had  already  become  the  prey  of  rapacious  English  lords,  who 
were  yet  unsatisfied  and  coveted  what  remained  in  Irish  hands. 
The  only  hope  of  the  Irish  lay  in  combination,  yet,  with  an 
infatuation  without  parallel,  they  would  not  combine.  Each 
chief  was  mindful  only  of  his  own  clan  and  of  preserving  what 
remained  of  his  diminished  power  ;  he  still  regarded  a  neigh- 
bouring  chief   with   envy,    regretted    his   success,  and    willingly 

*  From  Dalriadia  in  Antrim. 
\  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.    133. 


28o  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

obtained  English  aid  for  his  overthrow.  To  explain  the  inter- 
minable dissensions  among  the  Irish  chiefs,  it  is  not  suf^cient  to 
say  that  these  dissensions  were  bred  by  the  clan  system  under 
which  these  chiefs  lived.  Political  systems  are  created  by  the 
people  ;  the  people  are  not  necessarily  wedded  to  any  one  system 
for  ever  ;  these  institutions  ought  to  be  changed  and  mended 
to  suit  the  changing  of  the  times  ;  and  a  people  less  quick-witted 
than  the  Irish  could  not  but  know,  whatever  the  clan  system 
was  in  the  early  ages  of  their  nation,  that  in  the  fourteenth 
century  it  was  as  much  out  of  place  in  Ireland,  as  the  government 
of  the  Patriarchs  would  be  in  the  highly  civilised  states  of  modern 
Europe.  Nor  was  it  the  common  people,  nor  even  the  lesser 
chiefs,  who  set  their  faces  against  change.  They  respected,  as 
the  Irish  always  do,  what  was  ancient  and  venerable,  but  they 
must  have  ceased  to  respect  a  system  which  kept  them  for  ever 
at  war  and  under  which  peace  and  security  were  unknown,  and 
if  they  did  not  desire  a  change  so  many  of  them  would  not  have 
petitioned  from  time  to  time  to  be  placed  under  English  law. 
The  initiative  was  left  to  the  greater  chiefs,  and  they  showed  no 
anxiety  for  a  change.  Each  of  these  chiefs  was  willing  to  be  supreme 
but  he  would  be  content  with  no  secondary  position.  Their 
pride  and  vanity  forbade  it.  Blind  to  the  future,  they  refused 
to  learn  from  the  past,  sacrificed  without  shame  or  scruple  the 
lives  of  their  clansmen,  and  transmitted  to  their  descendants 
the  inheritance  of  discord  which  they  had  received. 

Hopeless  of  bettering  their  condition  through  the  unity  of  the 
native  chiefs,  the  Irish  sometimes  appealed  to  the  English  king 
for  the  protection  of  English  law,  but  they  usually  appealed 
in  vain.  Henry  III.,  when  appealed  to  by  those  who  lived  in 
the  midst  of  the  English  settlers  and  who  had  neither  the  protec- 
tion of  Irish  nor  of  English  law,  commanded  his  Viceroy  to  see  that 
they  were  governed  by  the  laws  of  England,  but  the  Anglo-Irish 
lords  frustrated  this  design.  They  knew  that  if  the  Irish  were 
under  English  law,  they  would  have  a  subject's  redress  against 
injustice  and  could  not  be  robbed  nor  murdered  with  impunity. 
There  is  a  feeble  letter  from  Henry  III.  to  these  lords  (1246), 
praying  them  to  permit  the  enforcement  of  English  law* — so 
powerful  were  these  lords,  so  little  subject  to  any  authority, 
that  they  were  thus  supplicated  by  an  English  King.  A  similar 
letter  was  addressed  to  the  Viceroy,  Ufford  (i28o),t  but  the 
Anglo-Irish  lords  again  defeated  its  purpose  ;  and  the  Irish  who 
lived  within  the  shadow  of  English  power  were  still  left  without 

*  Leland's  History  of  Ireland,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  224-7. 

\  Ibid:,  pp.  244-5.  But  the  Irish  would  have  to  pay  for  getting  the 
English  law  extended  to  them.  They  had  offered  8000  marks  for  the 
privilege.      (The  O' Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.  11 8-1 19.) 


THE   INVASION   OF   BRUCE.  28 1 

the  protection  of  English  law.  Nor  does  it"^  appear  that  the 
English  king  was  always  anxious  to  protect  the  Irish  from 
injustice,  or  to  establish  peace  among  them.  In  the  reign  of 
Edward  I.  there  were  contentions  between  the  MacDermotts  and 
O'Connors  of  Connaught,  and  Ufford,  the  Viceroy,  was  summoned 
to  England  by  the  King  to  answer  why  these  disturbances  were 
not  repressed  (1278),  and  the  answer  given  was  that  in  policy 
he  thought  it  expedient  to  wink  at  one  knave  cutting  off  another, 
that  would  save  the  King's  coffers,  and  purchase  peace  to  the 
land  whereat  the  King  smiled  and  bade  him  return  to  Ireland.* 

With  native  chiefs  warlike,  restless  and  turbulent,  seldom  at 
peace  and  seldom  allowing  those  within  the  range  of  their  influence 
to  be  at  peace,  with  an  alien  aristocracy  grasping,  greedy  and 
insatiable,  with  English  kings  not  always  friendly,  but  always 
careless  or  impotent  to  protect  them,  the  lot  of  the  native  Irish 
was  pitiable.  The  peasant  who  tilled  his  fields  knew  not  how 
soon  his  crops  would  be  wasted  and  destroyed,  nor  how 
soon  the  cattle  which  he  tended  with  care  would  become  the 
prey  of  some  rapacious  fixebooter  ;  and  if  he  lay  down  peacefully 
to  rest,  he  might  be  awakened  by  the  light  of  his  blazing  home. 
His  property  and  his  life  were  at  the  mercy  of  every  English 
plunderer,  and  against  the  evil  doer  there  was  no  redress,  for 
the  Englishman  could  not  be  made  amenable  to  Irish  or  Brehon 
law,  nor  had  the  Irishman  the  right  to  appeal  to  an  English 
judge.  Men  will  not  bear  silentlj'  and  without  protest  the 
infliction  of  wrong.  When  a  government  will  not  restrain  the 
wrong-doer,  nor  protect  the  peaceful  from  injustice,  the  most 
timid  and  hesitating  will  have  recourse  to  violence  ;  and  if  the 
native  Irish  of  the  period  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  English 
settlers,  they  sometimes  retaliated,  and  inflicted  on  their  perse- 
cutors some  of  the  injuries  they  had  received.  Along  the  coast 
and  inland,  in  the  province  of  Leinster,  were  a  few  towns  tenanted 
principally  by  English,  where  trade  flourished  and  where  the 
merchant  and  the  artisan  pursued  their  avocations  m  peace, 
witnin  the  shelter  of  the  town  walls,  while  outside,  violence  and 
disorder  raged.  But  these  towns  which  had  not  a  surrounding 
wall  weie  as  defenceless  as  the  open  country,  and  an  event  which 
occurred  at  New  Ross  (1260),  is  specially  mentioned,  where  a 
horseman  entered  the  streets,  bargained  with  a  merchant  for  a 
piece  of  cloth  and  then,  seizing  the  cloth,  rode  away  without 
paying,  an  event  which  caused  all  the  citizens,  even  the  women, 
to  join  in  building  a  wall  round  their  town.f 

In  the  Remonstrance  of  Donal  O'Neill  to  Pope  John  XXII. 

*  Hardiman's  Statute  of  Kilkenny — Introduction,    p.  24s 
f  D'Arcy  Magee's  Art  MacMurrogh,  p.  129.      Appendix. 


282  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

there  is  a  detailed  account  given  of  the  state  of  Ireland  and  the 
ills  under  which  the  Irish  groaned.  They  had  been  already  driven 
from  the  most  fertile  of  their  lands,  from  the  plains  to  the  bogs 
and  mountains,  and  even  here  they  were  insecure — their  propeity 
was  taken,  their  lives  sacrificed  with  impunity,  for  if  an  Irishman 
committed  a  crime  he  was  dragged  before  an  English  tribunal, 
where  he  was  fined  or  imprisoned,  or  perhaps  put  to  death,  but 
an  Englishman,  who  committed  the  same  crime  against  an 
Irishman,  was  allowed  to  go  free.  The  English  had  repeatedly 
declared  that  it  was  no  crime  to  kill  an  Irishman  ;  and  the  calcu- 
lation is  made  that  by  the  sword  alone,  since  the  Invasion,  at 
least  50,000  of  both  nations  had  been  killed.*  Treaties  with  the 
Irish  these  English  settlers  readily  made,  and  broke  with  equal 
readiness,  and  special  mention  is  made  of  the  treachery  of 
De  Clare,  who  broke  faith  with  O'Brien  and  had  him  cruelly 
tortured  to  death  (1278),  and  of  Birmingham,  "the  treacherous 
baron,"  who  slaughtered  O'Connor  of  Offaly  and  his  chiefs, 
while  they  were  guests  at  his  table,  nor  do  these  cases  stand 
alone.  Bishops  and  priests  were  treated  with  every  indignity 
and  were  so  cowed  that  they  were  afraid  even  to  complain, f 
and  monks  of  Irish  birth  were  excluded  from  those  establishments 
which  their  own  countrymen  had  built  and  endowed.  So  anxious 
were  the  Irish  for  peace  and  security,  that  they  had — at  least 
several  of  them  had — appealed  to  the  English  king  through 
Lord  John  Hotham,  offermg  to  hold  their  lands  by  English 
tenure,  but  their  appeal  had  not  met  with  the  courtesy  of  a  reply .+ 
Donal  O'Neill  reminded  the  Pope  that  one  of  his  predecessors, 
Adrian  IV.,  by  false  representations  and  by  his  partiality  for 
England,  had  granted  Henry  II.  dominion  over  Ireland,  but 
that  he  had  done  so  for  the  good  of  Ireland  itself  and  in  the  hope 
that  it  would  prosper  under  English  rule.  He  now  instanced 
the  evils  his  country  had  suffered  and  was  suffering  still,  his 
countrymen  and  himself  had  no  hope  of  getting  justice  from 
England,  and  had,  in  consequence,  invited  Edward  Bruce, 
brother  of  King  Robert  of  Scotland,  to  come  and  reign  over 
them  and  they  hoped  he  would  receive  the  Pope's  blessing  and 
support.  John  XXII.  did  not  grant  the  prayer  of  the  Remon- 
strance ;  he  had  no  love  for  the  Bruces  ;  King  Robert  was  already 
excommunicated,   and   far   from   approving   of   Edward   Bruce's 

*  King's  Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  p.   11 23. 

t  King,  p.  1 124  ;  "  they  were  strangely  influenced  by  a  slavish  timidity." 
%  Ibid.,  p.  1 1 32.  They  offered  even  that  the  English  king  should 
divide  the  land  between  them  and  the  Anglo-Irish,  whom  they  call  the 
middle  nation,  "  so  widely  different  in  their  principles  of  morality  from 
the  English  of  England  and  from  all  other  nations,  that  they  may  be 
denominated — not  of  any  middling  but  the  most  extreme  degree  of  perfidy. 


THE   INVASION   OF   BRUCE.  283 

invasion,  he  even  warned  the  Irish  against  supporting  him  and 
threatened  with  excommunication  those  who  did.*  Yet  the 
Remonstrance  impressed  him  strongly,  and  though  he  did  not 
answer  Donal  O'Neill  directly,  he  wrote  to  the  English  king, 
warning  him  and  advising  him  that  the  Irish  should  be  treated 
with  greater  justice.f 

In  the  meantime,  Edward  Bruce  had  received  the  invitation 
to  come  to  Ireland.  His  brother,  Robert,  did  everything  to  aid 
him,  nor  was  he  displeased  thus  to  get  rid  ot  an  aspiring  and 
ambitious  brother,  who  had  already  shown  himself  disagreeably 
active,  acquiesced  with  reluctance  in  the  position  of  a  mere 
subject  and  had  put  forth  a  claim  to  share  the  dominion  of 
Scotland  with  his  brother.;]:  All  preparations  being  made,  Edward 
Bruce  sailed,  and  in  May,  131 5,  landed  at  Larne,  in  the  county 
of  Antrim.  He  had  with  him  6000  men,  well  armed  in  the 
English  fashion,  experienced  in  war,  inspired  with  the  memory 
of  recent  victory,  and  he  had  leaders  already  tried  and  proved, 
such  as  the  Earl  of  Moray,  Menteith,  John  Campbell,  Bissett 
and  others. II  He  was  cordially  welcomed  by  Donal  O'Neill,  who, 
in  the  hope  of  seeing  an  united  Ireland, sacrificed  his  own  hereditary 
rights,  as  the  descendant  of  Nial,  and  swore  allegiance  to  Edward 
Bruce  ;  the  other  leaders,  Irish  and  Scotch,  followed  his  example 
and,  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  whole  army,  Bruce  was 
proclaimed  King  of  Ireland.  In  the  north-east  of  Ireland  the 
ancient  inhabitants  had  been  driven  from  the  lands  on  which 
their  ancestors  had  lived  and  beheld  with  envious  eyes  these 
same  lands  in  the  hands  of  the  English  settlers,  the  descendants 
of  the  adventurers  who  had  come  to  Ulster  with  De  Courcy,  or 
had  been  subsequently  planted  there  by  De  Lacy,  or  De  Burgho. 
Against  these  was  directed  the  first  fury  of  Bruce's  attack.  Their 
lands  were  wasted,  their  crops  destroyed,  their  castles  and  even 
their  churches  levelled  to  the  earth.  The  Mandevilles,  the  Savages, 
the  Bissetts,  the  Russells  and  the  rest  combined,  but  their  united 
forces  were  quickly  overthrown.  They  retired  to  Carrick- 
fergus  but  the  place  was  attacked  and  taken,  a  remnant  shut 
themselves  up  in  the  strong  fortress  of  the  town  and  maintained 
their  position  against  repeated  attacks,  and  this  garrison  alone 
remained  to  the  English  Colonists,  while  the  town  and  country 

*  Leland,  Vol.  I.,  p.  275.  In  his  communication  to  Robert  Bruce 
(13 16),  the  Pope  styled  him  noble  lord  and  refused  him  the  title  of  King,- 
and  when  he  heard  of  the  expedition  to  Ireland,  he  excommunicated  him. 
(Lingard,   Vol.  m.j  pp.    19-20.) 

•f  King's  History,  pp.   1136-39. 

+   The  O' Conors  of  Connaught,  p.    131. 

II  Grace's  and  Clynn's  Annals  ;  also  Four  Masters.  Loch  Ce  and  Annals 
of  Clonmacnoise. 


284  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

round  had  fallen  into  the  invaders'  hands.*  In  a  rapid  march 
Bruce  proceeded  southwards,  destroying  the  property  of  the 
settlers  as  he  passed,  and  by  the  end  of  June  he  had  captured 
Dundalk  and  Ardee,  the  church  of  the  latter  town  in  which  some 
had  taken  refuge  he  set  on  fire  and  burned  both  the  church  and 
the  people  within  its  walls.f 

From  the  English  king  the  new  Irish  king  had  little  to  fear. 
Edward  II.  had  fled,  defeated  and  disgraced,  from  the  field  of 
Bannockburn  ;  |  such  a  king  was  unlikely  to  defend  his  Irish 
possessions  with  ability  or  vigour,  and  if  the  Anglo-Irish  lords 
could  not  resist  the  invader,  then  English  power  in  Ireland  was 
doomed.  But  these  Anglo-Irish  lords  were  powerful  and  wealthy, 
and  the  lands  which  their  own  swords,  or  the  swords  of  their 
ancestors  had  won  they  were  not  likely  to  relinquish  without  a 
struggle.  They  had  often  fought  among  themselves,  but  the 
present  was  a  time  to  suspend  their  quarrels,  in  unity  alone 
was  strength  and  salvation  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  concerting 
measures  of  defence  they  met  in  Council  at  Kilkenny. ||  The 
Viceroy,  Butler,  was  there,  so  also  were  Fitzgerald  of  Offaly  and 
Birmingham  and  De  la  Poer  of  Waterfoid  and  many  others. 
The  most  powerful  of  all  the  Anglo-Irish  was  absent — Richard 
de  Burgho,  the  Red  Earl,  as  he  was  called.  But  he  was  not 
indififerent  to  the  events  that  were  taking  place.  As  Earl  of 
Ulster  his  possessions  in  the  northern  province  were  enormous, 
the  district  devastated  by  Bruce  was  either  his  or  his  vassals,  and 
from  his  castle  at  Gal  way  he  contemplated  with  rage  his  castles 
and  lands  in  Ulster  destroyed  and  pillaged  and  the  homes  of  his 
vassals  laid  waste.  His  power  was  so  great  that  he  could  scarcely 
be  called  a  subject,  and  in  public  documents  his  name  was  placed 
before  that  of  the  Viceroy.  And  his  power  was  not  greater  than 
his  pride.  He  despised  the  other  Anglo-Irish,  disdained  to  take 
counsel  with  them  and  deemed  himself  alone  able  to  cope  with 
and  to  conquer  this  presumptuous  Scotchman,  who  had  dared 
to  invade  his  territory.  His  retainers  throughout  Connaught 
obeyed  his  summons  and  a  strong  army  was  soon  assembled  at 
Athlone.  With  the  O'Connors,  discord  had  done  its  work.  They 
were  little  better  than  the  vassals  and  dependents  of  De  Burgho  ; 
they  dared  not  disobey  his  mandate  ;  and  the  ruling  prince — 
Felim  O'Connor — with  his  forces  had  also  gone  to  Athlone. 

The  whole  army  thus  composed  marched  eastwards  through 

*  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.  Dowling's  Annals  at  13 14.  If  Bruce  was 
opposed  by  the  Bissetts,  there  was  also  a  Bissett  in  his  own  ranks. 

f  Grace's  Annals. 

X  He  did  not  draw  rein  till  he  reached  Dunbar.  (Lingard,  Vol:  Ills 
p.    12.) 

II  Clynn's  Annals;    the  date  was  the  beginning  of  June,   1315. 


THE   INVASION   OF  BRUCE,  285 

Westmeath  and  Meath,  nor  was  their  progress  less  destructive 
in  these  districts  than  that  of  Bruce  in  Ulster.  Some  little  distance 
south  of  Ardee  De  Burgho  met  the  Viceroy,  Butler,  proceeding 
north  to  encounter  Bruce,  but  the  Red  Earl  bade  him  go  back, 
haughtily  told  him  that  he  and  his  vassals  would  oveicome  the 
Scots  and  that  Bruce's  head  should  soon  fall.*  Butler  returned 
south,  and  De  Burgho  and  his  army  came  up  with  Bruce  near 
Ardee.  The  forces  of  the  Red  Earl  were  strong,  probably  superior 
in  numbers  to  the  Scottish  and  northern  Irish,  and,  under  the 
advice  of  Donal  O'Neill,  Bruce  fell  back  and  took  up  a  position 
on  the  river  Bann,  whither  he  was  followed  by  De  Burgho.  The 
two  armies  were  on  the  opposite  banks  of  the  river,  De  Burgho's 
on  the  east  bank,  Bruce's  on  the  west ;  the  opposing  soldiers 
discharged  arrows  at  each  other  across  the  river ,f  and  in  this 
irregular  and  desultory  fashion  the  campaign  was  prolonged, 
De  Burgho  anxious  to  engage  in  a  general  battle,  which  Bruce 
was  equally  anxious  to  postpone.  He  had  hopes  of  disengaging 
Felim  O'Connor  from  his  alliance  with  De  Burgho,  was  secretly 
negotiating  with  him,  and  at  length  succeeded  in  his  object. 
He  assured  Felim  that  Connaught  would  be  restored  to  him  in 
full,  freed  from  the  hated  English,  and  represented  to  him  that 
in  fighting  with  De  Burgho  he  was  fighting  against  his  own 
and  his  country's  best  interests.  Another  reason,  also,  weighed 
with  Felim,  for  a  rival  prince — Rory  O'Connor — had  already 
denounced  him  as  the  ally  of  the  English,  had  met  with  much 
support  from  the  native  chiefs  and  had  even  intrigued  with  Bruce, 
who  told  him  to  wage  war  against  the  English  in  Connaught, 
or  elsewhere,  but  to  leave  Felim  unmolested. J  With  apparent, 
though  insincere  regret,  Felim  announced  to  his  ally  that  he 
should  return  west  ;  and  when  he  had  gone,  De  Burgho,  feeling 
himself  inferior  to  the  enemy,  commenced  to  retreat.  He  fled 
eastwards  towards  Ballymenaandata  little  village  named  Connor,|| 
he  was  overtaken  (Sep.  loth)  and  compelled  to  give  battle.  The 
contest  was  stubbornly  fought,  but  the  victory  was  decisive  and 
crushing,  De  Burgho's  army  was  swept  off  the  field,  his  best 
soldiers  were  killed,  his  bravest  knights  were  among  the  slain, 
his  brother,  William,  was  taken  prisoner,  a  remnant  of  the  army 
found  refuge  in  the  castle  of  Carrickfergus,*  *  the  remainder  with 
their  leader  fled  south,  harassed  by  the  pursuing  enemy  ;  and 
the  Red  Earl,  who  had  gone  forth  from  Connaught  with  such 


*  The  0' Conors  of  Connaught ^  p.    133. 

\  Ibid.,  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise. 

X  Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

tj  The  village  lies  four  or  five  miles  south-east  of  Ballymenaj 

■**  Grace's  Annals,  p.  67 


286  .    HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

confidence,    returned   without    an    army,   baffled,   defeated    and 
disgraced. 

Except  the  castle  of  Carrickfergus,  no  spot  in  Ulster  now 
owed  allegiance  to  the  English  ;  all  had  been  conquered  by 
the  victorious  Bruce,  nor  was  his  progress  stayed  as  he  marched 
south,  through  Louth  and  Meath,  until  he  reached  Kells.*  His 
opponent  at  that  place  was  Roger  Mortimer ,t  who,  by  his  marriage 
with  the  heiress  of  Geneville,  had  inherited  the  lands  and  castles 
of  Walter  de  Lacy.  Mortimer's  army  numbered  15,000  but 
their  opposition  was  futile,  the  tide  of  Bruce's  success  still  rolled 
on,  his  enemies  were  scattered,  and  Mortimer  fled  to  Dublin 
and  embarked  for  England.  Bruce  pursued  his  journey  through 
the  north  of  Meath,  Westmeath  and  Longford,  then  turning 
south  again  into  Westmeath,  he  set  up  his  headquarters  at 
Loughseudy,  rested  and  refreshed  his  army,  and  spent  there 
the  Christmas  of  13 15.  He  was  joined  by  some  of  the  De  Lacy 
family — Hugh  and  Walter — who  protested  that  they  were  the 
rightful  heirs  of  Meath  and  who  rejoiced  at  Mortimer's  overthrow. | 
Early  in  the  new  year  Bruce  was  again  active  and  at  Arscoll,  a 
little  east  of  Athy,  he  met  a  strong  Anglo-Irish  army  under 
Butler.  The  number  is  said  to  have  been  up  to  30,000,  much 
more  than  could  be  with  Bruce,  but  the  Anglo-Irish  leaders 
quarrelled  among  themselves,  the  result  of  divided  counsels  was 
weakness  and  confusion,  and  Bruce  was  again  the  victor.  But 
provisions  were  wanting,  these  wars  had  swept  the  country  bare, 
want  of  food  prevented  any  further  advance  and  Bruce  was 
compelled  to  retreat  northwards.  He  set  up  his  headquarters 
at  Dundalk  and  there,  on  the  ist  of  May,  13 16,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Scotch  and  Irish,  he  was  crowned  King  of  Ireland  under 
the  title  of  Edward  I.  || 

So  far  the  career  of  Bruce  in  Ireland  was  one  of  unbroken 
triumph  ;  everywhere  he  appeared  he  was  victorious  ;  but  his 
friends  had  not  been  equally  successful.  The  O'Tooles  and 
O'Byrnes  from  the  mountains  of  Wicklow  had  swooped  down 
on  the  English,  and  Bray  and  Newcastle  had  been  set  in  flames 
and  the  O'Mores  had  risen  in  Leix.  But  these  different  clans 
had  fought  separately,  without  unity  of  purpose  or  plan,  and 
they  had  fought  in  their  saffron  shirts,  while  the  English  were 
covered  with  coats  of  mail.     The  result  was  easy  to  foresee.    The 

*  Marlborough's    Chronicle. 

t  He  was  married  to  Maud  de  Geneville,  granddaughter  of  Walter  de 
Lacy. 

\  These  De  Lacy's  may  have  been  descended  from  a  younger  brother 
of  Walter  de  Lacy,  or  perhaps  they  were  illegitimately  descendeda 
(Grace's  Annals,  p.  68    note.) 

II  Grace's  Annals 


THE  INVASION   OF   BRUCE.  287 

O'Mores  were  defeated  by  Butler  (January,  13 16),  leaving  800 
dead  on  the  field,  the  O'Tooles  were  defeated  at  Baltinglass, 
with  the  loss  of  300  and  about  the  same  time  a  detachment  of  the 
Scots  themselves  was  defeated  in  Ulster,  with  the  loss  of  300.* 
But  these  disasters  were  light  compared  to  that  which  overtook 
the  O'Connors  of  Connaught.  When  Felim  returned  from  Ulster 
he  found  a  rival,  Rory  O'Connor,  seated  in  his  place.  This 
Rory  had  got  an  army  together,  burned  Sligo,  destroyed  the 
castles  of  Roscommon,  Ballintubber,  Kilcoleman  and  Rindown, 
compelled  the  Connaught  chiefs,  except  MacDermott,  to  give 
him  hostages,  and  finally,  had  himself  crowned  king  with  the 
usual  ceremonies  on  the  ancient  mound  of  Carnfree.t  Nor 
could  Felim  hope  to  overcome  his  rival,  for  his  only  ally  was  his 
foster-father,  MacDermott,  and  MacDermott  himself  had  to 
light  a  rival  and  for  a  time  was  a  fugitive  from  Moylurg.  Early 
in  the  next  year,  Felim  and  MacDermott  obtained  the  assistance 
of  some  of  the  O'Connor  chiefs  and  also  of  Birmingham 
of  Dunmore  whose  castle  had  been  destroyed  by  Rory  O'Connor 
in  the  preceding  year.  X  The  united  army  encountered  Rory 
at  Ballymoe,  in  the  county  of  Galway  ;  the  mail-clad  warriors 
of  Birmingham  gave  Felim  an  advantage  ;  Rory  was  defeated 
and  once  more  Felim  became  king  of  the  native  Irish  of 
Connaught,  and  without  a  rival  to  dispute  his  claims.  He  first 
punished  those  chiefs  who  had  supported  his  rival,  then  he  turned 
against  the  Anglo  Irish  lords,  De  Exeter,  Cogan,  Stanton,  and 
Lawless,  and  defeated  them  with  great  slaughter  at  Ballylahin,|| 
in  Mayo,  turned  eastwards  to  Roscommon  of  which  he  possessed 
himself,  and  finally,  mindful  of  his  promises  to  Bruce,  he  made 
alliances  with  O'Mellaghlin  of  Meath,  O'Brien  of  Thomond,  and 
O'Rorke  of  Breffni,  and  declared,  with  the  enthusiastic  assent 
of  all  the  native  chiefs,  that  he  was  determined  to  chase  the 
English   from   his   native   province. 

During  all  this  time  the  Red  Earl  remained  inactive, 
but  his  brother  William,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner 
by  Bruce,  had  just  been  released,  and  having  returned 
to  Connaught  he  concerted  with  Birmingham  measures  of 
defence  against  O'Connor's  threatened  attack.  The  opposing 
forces  met  at  Athenry,  on  the  loth  of  August,  1316.  In 
numbers  the  Irish  were  probably  superior,  in  bravery  not 
inferior,  but  in  arms  and  discipline  they  were  heavily  over- 
matched.     Clad    in  coats   of   mail,   mounted   on  heavy    horses 


*  Grace's  Annals  ;  Clynn's  Annals: 

t   The  O' Conor's    of  Connaught,  p.    134. 

X  Annals    of  Loch  Ce. 

I  A  few  miles  south  of  the  village  of  Foxfordi 


288  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

and  armed  with  long  lances,  the  cavalry  were  protected  by 
archers,  armed  with  the  powerful  cross  bow,  and  in  this  order 
the  English  awaited  the  attack.  Against  such  tactics  and 
armour  the  tumultuous  and  undisciplined  valour  of  the  Irish 
was  unavailing.  With  an  obstinate  and  stupid  adherence 
to  ancient  custom  they  were  still  clad  in  their  linen  tunics.  They 
fought  as  their  ancestors  did,  three  centuries  before  at  Clontarf, 
with  sword  and  spear  and  battle-axe,  and  although  they  had 
been  repeatedly  taught  by  defeat  the  superiority  of  mail-clad 
troops,  they  still  refused  to  wear  coats  of  mail  and  thought 
it  unworthy  of  brave  men  to  be  clad  in  armour.*  So  obstinate 
a  refusal  to  learn,  so  blind  an  adherence  to  what  was  ancient 
and  what  ought  to  have  been  obsolete,  such  reckless  courting 
of  inevitable  disaster  will  not  easily  be  paralleled.  Time  after 
time  the  ranks  advanced  only  to  be  mown  down  by  the  murderous 
volleys  of  the  crossbowmen,  and  then,  when  the  advancing 
ranks  were  broken  and  divided,  they  were  trampled  under  foot 
by  the  cavalry.  Before  they  could  even  reach  the  English  ranks 
and  use  their  battle-axes  on  which  they  relied  so  much,  they 
were  literally  swept  away.  No  sooner  were  the  front  ranks 
cut  down  than  others  stepped  into  the  vacant  places  only 
to  be  cut  down  in  turn,  and  when  evening  came,  8,000  of 
the  Irish  lay  dead,  or  dying,  on  the  plains  round  Athenry.f 
It  was  the  most  disastrous  overthrow  the  Irish  had  got  since 
Strongbow  first  landed.  Felim  O'Connor,  at  the  age  of  23, 
was  dead,  Teige  O'Kelly,  chief  of  Hy-many,  and  28  nobles  of 
his  name,  O'Hara,  O'Dowda,  O'Madden  and  many  of  the 
MacDermotts.  On  that  disastrous  day  every  ancient  family 
in  Connaught  had  to  mourn  the  loss  of  some  of  its  members, 
and  not  a  few  families  were  entirely  swept  away.  For  this  woful 
news  from  Connaught  it  was  some  small  compensation  to  Bruce 
that  Carrickfergus  Castle  surrendered.  The  English  garrison 
had  made  a  most  heroic  defence.  Though  constantly  besieged 
by  a  large  detachment  of  the  Scots,  they  had  stubbornly  held 
the  place  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  had  sallied  forth 
causing  loss  and  damage  to  the  besiegers.  Reduced  to  the 
last  extremity  by  hunger,  they  had  eaten  hides  and  when  these 
were  consumed,  they  had  killed  and  eaten  eight  Scotchmen, 
whom    they    had    taken    prisoners.  I      At     last     conquered     by 

*  The  Irish  appear    to  have  little  used    archery  at  any  time. 

t  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  and  Clonniacnoise.     Four  Masters  ;  Cox. 

Athenry  seems  to  have  been  a  place  of  some  consequence  in  those  days, 
as  it  got  a  murage  charter  (13 10),  empowering  the  bailiffs  and  good  men 
of  the  town  to  take  the  tolls  and  customs  and  build  a  wall  round  the  town 
(O'Flaherty's   lar-Connaught,  p.   266.) 

X  Grace,  p.  77.     (Butler's  note,  quotation  from  Pembridge.) 


THE   INVASION   OF  BRUCE.  289 

starvation,  they  yielded  and  Carrickfergus  Castle  was  given 
up  to  Bruce,  the  last  place  in  all  Ulster  from  whose  turrets 
the  flag  of  England  had  waved.  Their  gallant  conduct  extorted 
the  admiration  of  their  foes,  and  although  they  surrendered 
unconditionally,  the  lives  of  all  were  spared.  Such  are  the 
events  that  marked  the  campaign  of  13 16. 

Towards  the  end  of  that  year  Robert  Bruce  arrived  in  Ireland, 
with  large  reinforcements,  and,  early  in  13 17,  the  two  brothers, 
with  20,000  Scots  and  a  large  number  of  Irish  were  ready  to 
take  the  field.  They  directed  their  march  on  Dublin,  laying 
waste  the  country  through  which  they  passed,  and  about 
February,  they  encamped  before  the  capital,  took  possession  of 
Castleknock,  made  its  governor — Tyrell — a  prisoner  and  menaced 
the  city  itself ;  and  the  citizens  beheld  with  dismay  the  gleam 
of  their  camp  fires  along  the  river  from  Kilmainham.*  Planted 
with  natives  from  Bristol  and  modelled  on  that  city,  granted 
many  royal  charters,  endowed  with  many  privileges,  protected 
alike  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Viceroys  and  the  encroachments 
of  the  archbishops,  Dublin  had  prospered  and  grown  wealthy. 
Its  mayor  and  burgesses  and  guilds  rejoiced  in  their  privileges, 
in  the  extent  of  their  trade  and  commerce,  and  were  ever  loyal 
and  attached  to  the  English  throne. f  And  the  mayor  of  those 
days,  Robert  of  Nottingham,  besides  being  loyal  to  England, 
was  a  man  of  stout  heart  and  iron  will,  prompt  to  decide,  equally 
prompt  to  act,  and  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  rather  than  have 
the  city  fall  into  Scottish  hands.  The  Red  Earl  of  Ulster  was 
then  in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Mary's  within  the  city,  old  and  dispirited, 
without  any  of  the  fire  or  energy  of  his  former  days.  His 
daughter  was  married  to  Robert  Bruce  and  the  Mayor  of  Dublin 
felt  convinced  that  he  was  secretly  partial  to  the  Scots,  and 
therefore  disloyal  to  England,  and  that  this  best  explained  his 
defeat,  and  his  subsequent  inactivity ;  and  getting  together 
a  band  of  citizens  as  stout-hearted  as  himself,  the  Mayor  entered 
St.  Mary's  Abbey,  killed  seven  of  the  Earl's  retainers,  who 
resented  his  entrance  as  an  intrusion,  and  then  seizing  the  Earl 
himself  cast  him  into  prison. ;[:  When  he  had  in  this  vigorous 
fashion  put  down  a  possible  enemy  within  the  city  gates,  he 
proceeded  to  take  measures  against  the  enemy  outside.  He 
demolished  the  Abbe)^  of  St.  Thomas,  and  with  the  stones  repaired 
the  city  walls ;  armed  with  torches,  he  and  his  companions  set 

*   Grace,  pp.  79-81. 

•f  Gilbert's  Historic  and  Municipal  Documents 

X  The  King  sent  special  orders  to  his  Viceroy  that  the  Dublin  citizens 
were  not  to  be  punished  in  any  way  for  what  they  had  done  {Historical 
and  Municipal  Documents,  p.  398).  On  the  contrary  some  of  their  taxes 
were  remitted  (p.  405-12.) 

U 


290  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

fire  to  the  wooden  buildings  on  the  city  outskirts,  to  the  church 
of  St.  John  and  the  chapel  of  Magdalen,*  and  some  of  the  Scots, 
who  made  an  attempt  to  enter,  perished  in  the  flames  of  the 
burning  buildings.  To  capture  a  city  so  capably  defended  would 
be  no  easy  task.  Bruce  shrank  from  the  encounter  and  the 
sacrifices  it  would  entail,  and  turning  aside  from  Dublin  he 
passed  through  Leixlip  and  Naas  into  Carlow  and  Kilkenny, 
then  west  from  Callan,  and  finally  halted  before  the  city  of 
Limerick.f 

But  famine  was  raging  in  the  land,  the  country  around  was 
waste  and  bare,  the  cattle  killed,  the  crops  destroyed,  the  cravings 
of  hunger  had  so  far  silenced  the  voice  of  natural  affection  that 
women  were  known  to  have  killed  and  eaten  their  own  children, J 
the  terrible  pestilence,  which  visited  Ireland  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  had  already  appeared  and  already  had  claimed  thousands 
as  its  victims,  and  famished  with  hunger,  thinned  by  pestilence 
or  weakened  by  disease,  the  Scots  had  but  little  chance  of  capturing 
a  city,  so  well  fortified  and  defended  as  Limerick.  And  to  remain 
before  the  walls  as  a  besieging  army  was  to  court  inevitable 
disaster.  The  example  of  the  Dublin  citizens  had  a  salutary 
effect  on  the  Anglo-Irish  lords,  the  efforts  of  Lord  John  Hotham, 
who  had  been  sent  specially  from  England  for  the  purpose, 
had  brought  them  together,  and  Geraldine  and  Butler  and  De 
la  Poer  had  agreed  to  suspend  their  quarrels  and  to  unite  for 
their  common  interests  against  their  common  enemy.  As  a 
result  an  army  of  30,000  men  was  assembled  at  Kilkenny, 
ready  to  take  the  field, ||  and  to  darken  still  further  the  prospect 
before  the  Scots,  Roger  Mortimer  with  full  powers  as  Viceroy 
had  landed  at  .  oughal  with  15,000  men.  In  these 
circumstances  the  only  safety  for  the  Bruces  was  to  retreat, 
which  they  did  by  way  of  Cashel,  Kildare  and  Trim,  until  finally 
they  reached  Dundalk,  about  the  month  of  May.  Why  this 
army  of  fugitives,  thinned  and  weakened  by  disease  and  famine, 
was  not  attacked  by  the  Anglo-Irish  may  excite  surprise.  But 
the  memory  of  Bannockburn  was  recent  and  vivid,  Edward 
Bruce  had  been  invariably  victorious,  and  even  with  such 
an  army  the  Bruces,  though  not  formidable,  were  feared. 
Besides,  between  the  new  Viceroy  and  his  allies  harmony  did 
not  reign,  for  Mortimer  was  kindly  disposed  to  the  Irish  and 
wished  to  extend  to  them  the  English  laws,  the  last  thing  which 
the  Anglo-Irish    lords  wished  to  do.** 

*  Grace's  Annals,  p.  79. 
I  Gilbert's   Viceroys,  p.    140. 

X  Grace,  p.  93.     Even  the  corpses  were  taken  out  of  the  graves  and 
cooked  and  eaten.  I  Ibid. 

**  Grace's  Annals^  pp.  84-5.        (Editor's  note.) 


THE   INVASION   OF  BRUCE.  29 1 

Robert  Bruce  returned  to  Scotland  promising  to  come  with 
reinforcements  next  year,  and  King  Edward  remained  inactive 
for  a  whole  year  at  Dundalk.  He  was  compelled  to  remain 
idle,  for  an  army  cannot  fight  without  food,  and  the  famine  still 
raged.  A  similar  reason  will  explain  the  inactivity  of  his  foes. 
But,  in  13 18,  there  was  abundance  of  food,  both  sides  became 
active,  and  the  English  forces,  under  John  de  Birmingham, 
advanced  north  to  attack  Bruce.  They  were  far  superior 
in  numbers  and  Donal  O'Neill  advised  Bruce  to  retire  north 
and  await  the  promised  reinforcements  from  Scotland.  The 
leaders,  both  Irish  and  Scotch,  seconded  O'Neill's  efforts,  foreseeing 
defeat  against  such  an  army  as  De  Birmingham's.  But  Bruce 
was  inexorable.  Strong-willed,  self-sufficient,  vain  of  his  victories, 
he  was  filled  with  that  presumption  which  is  often  the  herald 
of  disaster  and  declared  that  at  all  costs  he  would  give  battle. 
The  two  armies  met  at  Faughart,*  near  Dundalk.  While 
the  battle  raged,  a  powerful  English  knight — Sir  John  de 
Maupas — rushed  into  the  Scottish  ranks,  sought  out  Edward 
Bruce,  with  whom  he  engaged  in  single  combat,  and  both  fell 
mortally  wounded.f  Whatever  doubt  there  might  have  been 
as  to  the  result  of  the  battle  was  now  over  ;  this  event  was  decisive, 
and  the  Scots  and  Irish  retreated,  leaving  2,000  either  dead  or 
wounded  on  the  field. J  Donal  O'Neill  reached  Tirowen,  the 
Irish  dispersed  to  their  homes  and  the  body  of  Bruce  was  taken 
by  De  Birmingham,  the  head  cut  off,  salted,  and  sent  as  a  present 
to  the  King  of  England.  De  Lacy  and  Sir  John  de  Culwick, 
who  had  fought  with  Bruce,  were  taken  prisoners  and  starved, 
each  being  allowed  but  three  meals  of  the  worst  bread  and  three 
draughts  of  foul  water  on  alternate  days  until  life  became  extinct. || 
For  his  victory  at  Athenry  Richard  de  Birmingham  was  created 
Lord  of  Athenry,  and  John  de  Birmingham  for  his  victory  over 
Bruce  was  created  Earl  of  Louth,  and  Baron  of  Ardee.  And 
thus   terminated   in   disaster   the  invasion  of  Edward   Bruce. 

*  Famous  as  the  birth-place  of  St.  Bridget. 
t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.    144-6. 
+  Bowling's  Annals. 

II  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.    147.     It  appears  Hugh  and  Walter  de  Lacy 
escaped  to  Scotland  ;  it  was  Joku  de  Lacy  who  was  starvedj 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

The  English  Colonists  turn  Irish. 

The  evil  effects  of  Bruce's  invasion,  especially  in  Ulster — The  O'Neills 
and  O'Donnells — The  O'Neills  of  Clanneboy — State  of  Connaught — 
Continued  quarrelling  among  the  chiefs — the  De  Burghos — The  Earl 
of  Ulster  murdered — Its  consequences — Rivalries  of  the  O'Connors 
and  others —  O'Kelly  of  Hy-many  and  the  Poets — The  English  defeated 
in  Desmond — State  of  the  Colonists  throughout  Leinster — and  of 
the  natives — The  Anglo-Irish  lords — Their  powers  and  their  quarrels — 
Strong  measures  of  the  viceroy,  Lucy — The  Earl  of  Desmond — Exacts 
Coyne  and  Livery — Edward  III.  and  the  Irish — Viceroyalty  of  Sir 
Ralph  Ufford — The  AngloTrish  adopt  Irish  customs — Reasons  for 
this  change — Viceroyalty  of  the  Earl  of    Desmond. 

Whatever  were  the  ills  from  which  Ireland  suffered  in  the 
early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  the  Remonstrance  of 
Donal  O'Neill  shows  that  they  were  neither  few  nor  unimportant- 
these  ills  were  increased  and  intensified  by  the  unfortunate 
invasion  of  Edward  Bruce.  If  he  had  succeeded,  if  he  had 
established  one  stable  government,  if  he  had  replaced  disorder 
and  anarchy  by  order  and  law,  it  may  be  that  the  recollection 
of  his  plunderings  and  depredations  and  the  ills  that  followed 
in  their  train  would  have  been  forgotten  in  happier  times.  But 
he  failed  ;  with  failure  men  often  associate  discredit,  just  as  a 
certain  glamour  surrounds  success,  and  it  has  been  Bruce's 
misfortune  that  his  memory  and  his  deeds  are  regarded  by 
Anglo-Irish  and  Irish  historian  with  equal  abhorrence.  Both 
Clynn*  and  Grace,t  who  wrote  from  amidst  the  Anglo-Irish, 
and  whose  Annals  reflect  the  views  of  those  among  whom  they 
lived  and  perhaps  whose  blood  they  shared,  have  dwelt  on  the 

*  Clynn  was  first  guardian  of  the  Franciscan  Monastery  of  Carrig  in 
Kilkenny,  founded  by  the  Earl  of  Ormond  (1336).  A  mere  Irishman 
would  hardly  be  placed  in  such  a  position.  (Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II.  Writers 
of  Ireland,  p.  83.) 

t  Grace  was  probably  a  native  of  Kilkenny,  where  the  Graces  of 
Gracefield  lived,  the  family  were  descended  from  Raymond  le  Gros  (Introd. 
to  Grace's  Annals^ 


THE  ENGLISH   COLONISTS   TURN   IRISH.  293 

frightful  havoc  wrought  by  the  Scottish  invasion  ;  and  they 
rejoice  at  the  victory  of  Ardee,  where  the  power  of  Bruce  was 
overthrown.  But  the  words  of  the  native  Annalists  are  equally 
strong,  and  the  condemnation  of  the  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise, 
of  Loch  Ce  and  of  the  Four  Masters  are  in  almost  identical  terms. 
*'  There  was  not,"  says  the  first  of  these  Annalists,  "  a  better  deed 
that  redounded  better  or  more  for  the  good  of  the  kingdom, 
since  the  creation  of  the  world  and  since  the  banishment  of  the 
Fomorians  out  of  this  land  done  Ireland  than  the  killing  of 
Edward  Bruce,  for  there  reigned  scarcity  of  victuals,  breach  of 
promises,  ill  performance  of  covenants  and  the  loss  of  men  and 
women  throughout  the  whole  realm  for  the  space  of  three  years 
and  a  half  that  he  bore  sway.  In  so  much  that  men  did  commonly 
eat  one  another  for  want  of  sustenance  during  his  time." 

Ulster  and  Leinster  were  especially  harassed,  for  it  was  over 
their  fields  the  opposing  forces  had  marched  and  countermarched, 
but  there  was  no  district  so  wasted  as  Ulster  and  no  people  suffered 
so  much  as  the  English  colonists  in  the  north-east  of  that  province. 
These  colonists  were  numerous  ;  on  both  sides  of  the  Bann  they 
had  driven  the  natives  from  their  possessions  and  had  appro- 
priated the  best  of  the  lands.  Planted  and  protected  by  the 
De  Burghos,  whose  feudal  castles  studded  the  whole  district  and 
whose  vassals  had  attained  the  position  of  powerful  feudal  lords, 
they  were  the  first  object  of  the  invader's  attack,  and  when  the 
Red  Earl  was  defeated  they  were  at  the  invader's  mercy.  Left 
to  themselves,  the  Mandevilles,  the  Logans  and  the  Savages 
fought  for  the  protection  of  their  fields  and  fought  bravely,  but 
whatever  success  they  met  with  was  transient ;  they  were 
fighting  against  overwhelming  odds,  and  before  the  hurricane 
of  Scottish  invasion  both  castle  and  cottage  went  down.  The 
churches  were  burned,  the  feudal  castle  was  rifled,  the  farmhouse 
destroyed,  the  crops  wasted  and  ruined,  the  cattle  driven  off, 
and  lord  and  vassal,  overwhelmed  in  the  same  disasters,  were 
reduced  to  the  same  level  of  indigence. 

It  would  be  strange  if  the  O'Neills  of  Tirowen  did  not  cast 
longing  eyes  eastwards,  and  take  advantage  of  the  weakness 
and  confusion  that  prevailed  among  their  foes.  There  were 
many  circumstances  in  their  favour.  The  English  Viceroy  at 
Dublin  received  no  support  from  England  and  was  therefore 
weak  ;  the  Anglo-Irish  lords  quarrelled  among  themselves,  the 
most  powerful  of  them  all — the  Red  Earl — was  old  and  feeble, 
his  martial  spirit  and  energy  gone,  his  sword  and  lance  laid  aside. 
He  lived  in  the  monastery  of  Athassel,  in  Tipperary,  spent  his 
time  in  penance  and  prayer,  and  in  that  retreat  (i  326),  his  stormy 
life  was  closed.*     Three  years  later,  the  dreaded  Earl  of  Louth, 

*  Gilbert's    Viceroys^^  p:   163. 


294  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

the  conqueror  of  Bruce,  was  murdered*  and  the  same  fate  befel 
(in  1333)  the  young  Earl  of  Ulster. t  Between  the  O'Neills  and 
the  dispirited  and  weakened  Colonists  nothing  intervened,  and 
if  the  O'Neills  and  the  O'Donnells  could  unite,  or  if  the  O'Neills 
would  cease  quarrelling  themselves,  the  English  colonists  would 
quickly  disappear.  But  disunion  still  continued.  Two  factions 
of  the  O'Neills  fought,  in  13 19,  and  Donal  O'Neill  was  driven 
from  Tirowen,  though  he  was  able  to  return  the  same  year.  When 
he  died  (1325)  there  was  the  inevitable  contest  between  two  rival 
chiefs  for  the  headship  of  Tirowen,  as  there  was  between  the 
O'Donnells  of  Tirconnell,  a  few  years  later  (1333).  A  few  years 
later  still,  (1339),  the  old  rivalry  between  the  O'Neills  and  the 
O'Donnells,  which  had  slumbered  so  long,  was  again  revived  and 
war  and  battles  were  the  result  ;  and  twice  in  the  years  that 
followed  (1343- 1 348),  did  the  O'Donnells  break  out  into  war 
though  the  quarrels  were  between  themselves  and  not  with 
the  O'Neills. I  But  through  all  these  years  the  Irish  were  making 
their  way  eastwards,  and  the  English  colony  was  gradually  losing 
ground.  An  energetic  and  warlike  branch  of  the  O'Neills,  the 
descendants  of  Hugh  Boy  O'Neill,  and  called  from  him  the 
O'Neills  of  Clanaboy,  passed  from  their  homes  in  Tirowen 
across  the  Bann,  expelled  the  English  out  of  the  "  barony 
of  Tuscard,  now  called  the  Route,"||  in  North  Antrim,  passed 
thence  to  Carrickfergus,  crossed  the  Lagan  and  chased  the  Savages 
from  the  Lower  Ards  into  a  small  district,  the  Upper  Ards, 
eastward  of  Strangford  Lough.  To  resist  the  advancing  wave 
of  Irish  attack  one  of  the  Savages  proposed  to  build  plenty  of 
strong  castles,  behind  which  they  would  be  secure,  but  his  son 
had  already  learned  to  imitate  the  Irish  ;  he  was  recklessly 
brave,  protested  that  he  would  fight,  like  the  Irish,  in  the  open, 
and  bade  his  father  remember  that  a  castle  of  bones  was  far 
better  than  a  castle  of  stones.  But  the  Savages  and  their  followers 
were  overwhelmed,  their  castles  were  all  thrown  down,  the  Irish 
occupied  these  lands  from  which  their  ancestors  had  been  driven, 
and  before  the  second  half  of  the  fourteenth  century  opened, 
the  English  settlements  along  the  Bann  had  disappeared,  and 
the  extensive  territory  of  the  Savages  had  shrunk  to  the  narrow 
limits  of  the  Upper  Ards,  and  even  here  their  position  was 
insecure. 

In  Connaught  the  march  of  events  was  somewhat  similar 
At  the  disastrous  battle  of  Athenry,  the  family  from  whom  the 


*  Ware's  Annals. 

t  Ibid. 

X  Four  Masters. 

jl  Sir    J.   Davies'   Historical   Tracts,  p.    157. 


THE   ENGLISH   COLONISTS   TURN   IRISH.  2Q5 

kings  of  Connaught  had  so  long  been  taken — the  descendants 
of  Cahal  Crovderg — were  nearly  extinguished,  Connaught  lay- 
helpless  at  the  feet  of  De  Burgho  and  Birmingham,  and  in  every 
house  throughout  the  province  there  was  mourning.  >  et  the 
surviving  princes  of  the  O'Connor  clan  would  not  compose  their 
differences  ;  no  two  could  agree,  and  the  miserable  remnant  of 
this  family,  who  had  so  long  afflicted  Connaught  with  their 
broils,  still  quarrelled  over  the  miserable  remnant  of  their  ancient 
possessions.  If  they  hoped  to  hold  even  what  was  left  them, 
still  more  if  they  hoped  to  win  back  what  was  lost,  if  even  they 
wished  to  avert  the  final  ruin  of  their  race  and  name,  it  was 
necessary  that  they  should  be  of  one  mind,  that  by  mutual 
arrangement,  by  the  sacrifice  of  personal  feeling  and  the  extinction 
of  personal  jealousy,  by  patience,  by  perseverance  in  common 
action  and  under  a  single  head,  they  should  present  a  firm  front 
to  the  foe.  But  such  was  not  the  tradition  of  their  house  ;  it 
was  one  of  discord  and  turmoil,  and  the  surviving  members  of 
the  O'Connor  family  were  resolved  to  maintain  its  evil  traditions. 
A  cousin  of  the  dead  king,  Felim,  by  name  Rory,  proclaimed 
himself  King.  He  was  attacked  by  William  de  Burgho  and 
deposed  ;  he  then  submitted  and  was  acknowledged  King  by 
the  same  De  Burgho,  who  was  strong  enough  to  play  the  role 
of  kingmaker.  But  MacDermott  of  Moylurg  refused  to  acknow- 
ledge this  creature  of  De  Burgho  and  set  up  Turlogh  O'Connor 
(13 1 7),  who  in  his  turn  was  defeated  and  deposed  by  another 
O'Connor — Cahal — ancestor  of  the  O'Connors  of  Sligo.  For 
years  this  prince  had  to  fight  many  battles  and  many  enemies, 
his  precarious  position  was  often  threatened,  and  finally  he  was 
defeated  (1324),  by  the  deposed  Turlogh  O'Connor,  who  then 
assumed  the  title  of  King.*  To  accentuate  the  evils  which 
afflicted  Connaught,  there  was,  in  addition  to  these  contests, 
war  between  the  O'Farrels  of  Leitrim  (1323),  in  which  they  so 
weakened  each  other  that  Birmingham  invaded  their  territories, 
causing  great  damage.  And  the  O'Rorkes  and  O'Reillys  were 
at  war  in   1324  and  again  three  years  later .f 

To  repress  all  these  conflicts,  to  chastise  all  these  warlike 
clans — the  O'Rorkes  and  O'Reillys  and  MacRannells  and 
MacDermotts  and  MacCostellos — even  to  maintain  his  position 
among  them  was  no  easy  matter,  yet  Turlogh  O'Connor  was 
an  able  man,  inheriting  some  of  the  best  qualities  of  his  ancestors, 
and,  in  the  midst  of  wars  and  conflicts  innumerable,  he  main- 
tained his  position  for  twenty  years.  He  must  have  rejoiced 
that  (in   1325)  William  de  Burgho  died.J      He  had  dropped  his 

*  The  O' Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.    137-140. 
I  Annals  of  Loch  Ce.     Four  Masters. 
X  Ibid.,  at   1324. 


296  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Norman  name  of  De  Burgho  and  assumed  the  plainer  one  of 
Burke,  he  spoke  the  Irish  language,  adopted  Irish  customs  and 
was  as  warlike  and  quarrelsome  as  any  Irish  chief  could  be. 
But  Turlogh's  troubles  were  not  ended  from  this  source,  for 
Burke  had  left  a  son,  Walter,  who  seems  to  have  inherited  all 
his  father's  qualities,  good  and  bad,  and  who  was  so  Irish  and 
so  powerful,  that  he  proposed  to  the  native  chiefs  that  Turlogh 
be  deposed  and  that  he  himself  be  appointed  King  ;  and  when 
this  was  not  agreed  to  he  made  war  on  Turlogh.*  The  latter  was 
aided  by  the  Earl  of  Ulster,  and  Walter  was  defeated,  but  a  little 
later,  or  perhaps  in  the  same  year  (1330),  they  were  again  at 
war.  Turlogh  and  MacDermott  on  one  side,  Burke  and 
MacCostelloe  on  the  other  ;  success  and  defeat  alternated,  and 
then  there  was  peace.  The  next  year,  perhaps  in  revenge,  Burke 
ravaged  Moylurg,  which  was  then  without  a  capable  ruler,  as 
Mulrony  MacDermott  had  resigned  the  chieftaincy  and  became 
a  monk.f  A  year  later,  Walter  Burke's  career  ended  in  disaster. 
He  was  treacherously  taken  by  his  kinsman,  the  young  Earl  of 
Ulster,  brought  to  the  Earl's  castle  of  InnishowenJ  and  flung 
into  its  prison  where  he  was  starved  to  death.  Revenge  followed 
quick  on  the  heels  of  assassination,  and  murder  was  followed  by 
murder.  A  sister  of  Walter  Burke's  was  married  to  Mandeville 
of  Ulster,  and  with  a  woman's  earnestness  she  pleaded  for  revenge, 
and  as  the  young  earl  was  proceeding  to  Mass  on  June  6th, 
1333,  he  was  set  upon  by  Mandeville  and  his  servants,  and  with 
one  blow  from  behind  his  skull  was  cloven  in.  The  murderers 
were  taken  and  put  to  death  ;  "  some  were  hanged,  others  shot 
and  others  torn  asunder  to  avenge  his  death. "|| 

The  death  of  this  young  Earl  was  far-reaching  in  its  conse- 
quences. Besides  his  possessions  in  Ulster,  Tipperary  and 
Kilkenny,  he  had  vast  estates  in  Connaught.  He  had  left  an 
infant  daughter,  and  by  the  provisions  of  feudal  tenure  the 
King  of  England,  as  immediate  lord  of  all  these  great  vassals, 
had  the  right  to  possess  and  manage  these  lands,  during  the 
minority  of  De  Burgho's  child.  But  this  was  an  arrangement 
in  which  the  two  most  powerful  of  the  Connaught  Burkes, 
Ulick  and  Edmond,  did  not  intend  to  acquiesce,  and  boldly 
renouncing  their  allegiance  to  the  English  king,  they  renounced 
their  name  and  nation,  seized  upon  the  earl's  castles  and  lands, 
adopted  the  Irish  mode  of  tenure — tanistry  and  gavelkind — 
called  themselves  MacWilliam  Oughter  and  MacWilliam  Eighter, 


*  The   0' Conors   of   Connaught,  p.    142. 

t  Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

X  Ibid.    The  castle  was  at  Greencastle,  near  the  mouth  of  Lough  Foyle. 

I'  Four  Masters ;  Grace's  Annals. 


THE   ENGLISH   COLONISTS   TURN   IRISH.  297 

and  in  the  sight  of  the  English  garrison  at  Athlone  cast  aside 
their  distinctive  Norman  dress  and  arms  and  assumed  the  saffron 
robes  of  an  Irish  chief.*  Their  example  was  widely  followed. 
Birmingham  assumed  the  name  of  MacFerris,  De  Exeter  became 
Mac  Jordan,  Nangle  became  MacCostelloe,  the  English  Colonists, 
who  refused  to  act  similarly  were  everywhere  overborne  ;  and 
when  Jordan  d' Exeter  was  asked  to  furnish  supplies  from 
Connaught  he  had  to  report  to  the  English  king  i'that  no  money 
could  be  got  as  the  whole  province  had  fallen  into  Irish  hands.f 
But  though  the  whole  fabric  of  English  power  in  Connaught 
was  thus  destroyed  the  province  was  not  destined  to  have  peace. 
Among  the  native  chiefs  the  spirit  of  faction  was  still  strong, 
the  rivalries  and  jealousies  of  the  O'Connors  seemed  interminable 
and,  perhaps,  even  a  more  potent  element  of  discord  was  the 
turbulence  and  rapacity  of  the  MacWilliam  Burkes.  Edmond 
of  that  name  was  especially  turbulent.  He  wasted  all  West 
Connaught  (1335),  and  three  years  later  he  captured  the  only 
surviving  son  of  the  Red  Earl,  in  the  Friar's  house  at  Ballintubber, 
brought  him  to  an  island  on  Lough  Mask,  put  him  into  a  bag, 
tied  a  stone  round  it  and  flung  him  like  a  dog  into  the  waters 
of  the  lake.+  This  act  of  murder  lost  him  the  sympathy 
and  support  of  many  in  Connaught  ;  the  next  year  he  was 
attacked  by  Turlogh  O'Connor  and  driven  out  of  the  province, 
after  which  he  got  together  a  few  ships  and  led  a  wandering 
and  reckless  life  of  piracy  along  the  coast,  and  during  the  years 
that  followed  went  to  Scotland  and  earned  the  nickname  of 
Albanach,  or  Scotch.    The  same  year  Turlogh  O'Connor  married 

*  The  De  Burgho's  Genealogical  Table.     Wm.  FitzAdelm  de  Burgho  died  1204. 
Richd.  T.nrd  of  Connaught  d   124-?. 

Walter  d.  1271  tn.  daughter  and  heiress  of  Hugh  de  Lacj',  Earl  of  Ulster.  William. 

\ I 

I  ;  William  d.  1324. 

Richard  E.  of  Ulster,  the  Red  Earl  d.  1326.         William  d.  1324. 

j  I  Lord  Warden  of  Galway. 

John  rf.  at  Galway  1313.         Edmond  ^.  1338.         Walter  </.  1331.  | 

j  (thrown    into    (starved  at  Greencastle, 

I  Lough  Mask).  Innishowen)  I 


William  E.  of  Ulster  d.  1333  Wm.  or  Ulick  Edmd.  Albanach 

(Killed  by  Mandeville)  ancestor  of  Burkes  of  ancestor  of 

I  Clanrickard  Mayo  Burkes 

Eliz.nbeth  m,  Duke  of  (MacWilliam  Eighters)  (MacWilliam 

Clarence.  Oughters). 

Vid.      Hardiman's  History  of  Galway,  pp.  54-56. 

O'Flaherty's  lar  Connaught,  pp.  32,  46,  47,  250.  Grace's  Annals^ 
p.    161.     Richey's  Lectures  on  Irish  History  (first  series),  pp.    177-8. 

t  O' Conor's  of  Connaught,   p.    143. 

+  O'Flaherty's  lar  Connaught,  pp.  47  48.  He  had  got  a  grant  of  the 
late  Earl's  lands  in  Connaught^  during  the  minority  of  his  infant  daughter 
for  payment  of  ;^200  a  year.     (O'Flaherty,  p.  250.) 


298  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

the  wife  of  the  Earl's  son,  who  was  drowned  in  Lough  Mask, 
divorced  his  own  wife  and  he,  too,  becoming  unpopular,  enemies 
arose  against  him,  until  (1342)  there  was  general  war  in 
Connaught.  Turlogh  was  deposed  and  Hugh  O'Connor  put  in 
his  place,  but  the  next  year  Turlogh  defeated  and  deposed  his 
rival,  though  he  was  not  long  at  peace,  for  in  a  quarrel  between 
the  MacRannells  of  Leitrim  he  took  sides  with  one  of  the  contest- 
ants and  was  killed,  thus  ending  his  troubled  career,  after  having 
been  for  nearly  twenty  years  the  head  of  the  native  Irish  of 
Connaught.*  In  the  meantime  there  were  various  quarrels 
between  other  chiefs.  The  O'Kellys  were  quarrelling  among 
themselves  (1340),  so  also  were  the  O'Rorkes  at  war  with  the 
O'Connors  and  with  the  MacDermotts  of  Moylurg,  O'Kelly  and 
Birmingham  were  at  war  (1343),  in  the  two  succeeding  years 
the  MacRannells,  split  up  into  contending  factions,  were  at  war, 
Edmond  Burke,  back  again  from  his  travels  and  piracies,  was 
fighting  Birmingham  and  the  O'Connors  combined  (1348), 
while  some  of  the  O'Connors  and  MacDermott  also  were  at  war 
(1349)  ;  and  to  complete  the  misery  of  Moylurg  it  was  desolated 
by  a  pestilence  as    well  as  wasted  by  the  horrors  of  war.t 

In  the  succeeding  years  all  is  confusion  and  all  is  strife. 
There  were  several  claimants  of  the  O'Connors  for  the  headship 
of  their  clans  in  which  we  can  with  difficulty  discover  that  Hugh, 
son  of  Turlogh,  succeeded  his  father  and  held  some  shadowy 
authority  from  1345  to  1356,  Hugh  after  him,  for  twelve  years 
and  then  Roderick,  who  is  set  down  as  king  from  1368  to  1384.J 
We  also  discover  that  the  Burkes  fought  among  themselves 
(1355))  iri  which  year  Edmond  Albanach  died.  A  few  years 
later  Burke  and  Birmingham  combined  waged  war  against 
Cahal  O'Connor  and  (in  1362)  the  O'Connors,  weary  of  fighting 
among  themselves,  suspended  their  quarrels  for  a  brief  period, 
and  as  if  to  show  what  they  could  do  if  united,  they  crossed  the 
Shannon  desolated  Meath  and  then,  turning  south,  defeated 
the  English  and  almost  destroyed  the  city  of  Kilkenny.  This 
monotonous  and  dreary  prospect  of  discord  and  strife,  of  petty 
wars  and  petty  ambitions  is  relieved  by  one  fact  which  the 
Annalists  have  rightly  recorded  and  which,  like  the  oasis  in  the 
desert,  is  in  such  striking  and  agreeable  contrast  to  the  waste 
of  desert  which  surrounds  it.  In  135 1,  William  O'Kelly  of 
Hy-Many  invited  all  the  Irish  poets,  brehons,  bards,  harpers, 
gamblers  and  jesters  and  others  of  this  kind  to  his  house  at 
Christmas,    where   everyone    of    them    was    well     received     and 


*  Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

t  Ibid.      Four  Mastersn 

X   The  0' Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.    146-8. 


THE   ENGLISH   COLONISTS   TURN   IRISH.  299 

extolled  their  host  for  his  bounty,  and  one  of  them  composed 
certain  Irish  verses  in  his  praise.  In  a  province  wasted  by 
eternal  war  such  assemblies,  where  the  contests  were  only  those 
of  wisdom  and  wit  and  learning,  were  all  too  rare  ;  and  well  for 
the  province  it  would  have  been  if  it  was  such  contests,  and  such 
only,  that  the  historian  had  to  record.* 

The  skill  of  a  Munster  chief,  Connor  O'Dea,  and  the  bravery 
of  the  Dalcassians  had  destroyed  English  power  in  West  Thomond 
(13 1 8)  at  the  battle  of  Dysert  O'Dea.-f  De  Clare  was  killed, 
his  lands  and  castles  taken  possession  of,  his  widow  left  the 
province,  taking  with  her  all  she  could,  and  Thomond,  west  of 
the  Shannon,  was  once  more  the  land  of  the  O'Briens.  But 
the  O'Briens  themselves  could  not  agree,  and  in  the  battle  which 
proved  so  fatal  to  De  Clare,  Murtogh  O'Brien  and  Brian  fought 
on  opposite  sides,  the  latter  being  on  De  Clare's  side.  He  was 
able  and  ambitious,  and  Murtogh,  who  had  triumphed,  wisely 
directed  his  opponents  thoughts  across  the  Shannon  and  helped 
him  to  conquer  East  Thomond,  that  stretch  of  territory  taking 
in  the  modern  baronies  of  Arra  and  the  Ormonds,  and  with  his 
headquarters  somewhere  near  Nenagh,  Brian  lived  for  years  in 
peace.  His  first  contest  was  with  the  De  Burghos  and  those  he 
defeated  (1322),  but  a  little  later  (1328),  they  again  attacked 
him  and  with  increased  strength,  for  they  were  assisted  by  some 
of  the  O'Briens,  by  the  MacNamaras  and  by  the  O'Connors  of 
Connaught.  Brian  wisely  sought  and  obtained  the  aid  of  the 
Earl  of  Desmond  and  again  he  defeated  his  foes,  after  which  the 
De  Burghos  left  him  unmolested.  His  ability  and  success  won 
for  him  the  respect  of  the  Dalcassian  chiefs,  and  when  Murtogh, 
his  old  rival,  died,  Brian  became  chief  of  all  Thomond  which  he 
ruled  without  opposition  until  1350,  when,  in  some  obscure 
contest,  east  of  the  Shannon,  he  was  killed.  Once  only  during 
these  years  was  the  peace  of  Thomond  broken — in  1334 — when  a 
combination  of  Connaught  chiefs  entered  the  district,  attacked 
MacNamara,  one  of  its  chiefs,  and  in  their  rage  and  cruelty  set 
fire  to  a  church  in  which  80  persons  and  two  priests  had  sought 
refuge,  and  church  and  people  and  priests  perished  in  the  flames.  J 

In  Leinster  and  part  of  Munster  the  destruction  of  English 
power  was  not  so  rapid  or  complete  as  in  the  other  provinces, 
but  it  was  growing  weaker,  and  the  native  chiefs  were  able  to 
hold  the  lands  they  had,  and  were  even  recovering  some  of  those 
they  had  lost.     The  O'Carrolls   in   Ely  O'Carroll   were  able  to 


*  Annals  of  Loch   Ce.    Annals  of  Clonmacnoise. 

t  Grace's     Annals.      Gilbert's     Viceroys,     p.     149.     White's    History 
of  Clare,  p   138. 
1  Four  Masters. 


300  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

defy  Ormond  and  all  his  power,*  the  O' Mores  were  as  firm  in 
Leix  as  their  own  rock-built  castle  of  Dunamaise ;  f  the 
C Nolans  held  their  own  in  CarlowJ  and  were  able  to  inflict  a 
serious  defeat  (1322)  on  Birmingham  and  his  allies;  the  O'Tooles 
and  O'Byrnes  in  their  mountain  fortresses  at  Wicklow,  defied 
all  attack,  and  a  chief  of  the  MacMurrogh  family  was  acquiring 
such  power  that  in  the  not  distant  future  that  family  would 
overshadow  all  Leinster.  In  this  portion  of  Ireland  all  was 
confusion.  The  native  chief  and  the  English  lord  lived  side 
by  side,  the  brehon  and  the  English  judge,  each  administering 
his  own  law.  There  was  the  English  king's  sheriff  and  the 
Anglo-Irish  lord's  sheriff  under  the  same  English  noble,  there 
was  English  and  Irish  law,  for  he  ruled  English  and  Irish,  was 
an  English  lord  and  an  Irish  chief  at  the  same  time  ;  and  not 
infrequently,  in  the  arrogance  of  his  power,  recognised  no  law 
but  his  own  will.  The  natives  who  lived  under  the  native 
chiefs  had  the  same  law  as  their  ancestors  had  and  wanted  none 
other,  but  those  who  lived  on  the  borders  of  the  English 
possessions,  or  under  the  rule  of  an  Anglo-Irish  lord,  had  much 
to  endure.  If  they  killed  or  robbed  an  Englishman  they  could 
be  punished,  even  put  to  death,  but  an  Englishman  might 
kill  or  rob  one  of  them  with  impunity,  and  the  cases  were  many 
where  the  English  culprit  had  but  to  plead  that  the  complainant 
was  Irish  and  he  himself  was  allowed  to  go  free.||  Some  natives 
had  purchased  charters  of  denization*  *  by  virtue  of  which 
they  became  English  subjects,  and  entitled  to  the  protection 
of  English  law,  others  had  repeatedly  petitioned  that  this  privilege 
and  protection  should  be  extended  to  them,  but  in  vain,  for 
though  both  of  the  first  Edwards  were  willing,  the  opposition 
of  the  Anglo-Irish  lords  was  effectively  interposed. "ft  Nor  did 
they  fare  better  under  Edward  III.,  for  though  he  transmitted 
to  his  Viceroy,  Darcy,  an  ordinance  (March  3rd.,  1331), 
declaring  that  there  should  be  one  law  for  Irish  and  English, 
it  was  similarly  obstructed    and  might  as  well  never  have  been 

*  They  gained  an  important  victory  over  the  English  in  1318. 
(^Annals    of    Clonmacnoise.      Four    Masters.     Clynn    (13 17). 

t  Three  miles  east  of  Maryborough,  the  O'More's  territory  of  Leix  was 
situated  in  the  south-east  of  Queen's  County. 

+  Their  territory  corresponded  to  the  present  barony  of  Forth  {Book 
■of  Rights,   p.    211.) 

II  Davies'  Historical  Tracts,  pp.  83-85.  For  instance,  when  Thomas 
Butler  brought  an  action  for  certain  goods  against  Robert  de  Almainj 
the  defendant  pleaded  he  was  bound  to  nothing,  as  the  plaintiff  was  not 
of  English  descent,  and  it  was  this  question  which  was  first  submitted 
to  the  jury. 

*  *  For  such  charters  there  was  usually  a  money  payment  exacted: 
ft  Leland,  Vol.  l.^  pp.  244-6,  289-90. 


THE   ENGLISH   COLONISTS   TURN   IRISH.  301 

issued.*  The  Anglo-Irish  lords  coveted  the  lands  of  the  Irish 
and  wished  to  appropriate  them  ;  they  could  not  do  so  with 
impunity  if  the  Irish  as  well  as  themselves  could  appeal  to  an 
English  court,  and  they  were  able  to  convince  the  English  king 
that  it  was  the  best  policy  to  regard  the  Irish  as  aliens  and  enemies^ 
and  to  harass  them  with  continual  war.  Such  was  the  position 
of  the  natives — outcasts  and  outlaws  in  their  own  land.  But 
even  the  English  settlers  had  much  reason  to  complain,  and 
in  a  petition  sent  to  England  (13 16),  they  complain  that  if  one 
Englishman  killed  another  or  robbed  him,  even  of  twelve  pence 
halfpenny,  his  life  was  forfeited  by  English  law,  but  that  an 
Irishman  for  such  offences  was  often  allowed  to  go  free,  on 
payment  of  a  fine,  and  that  in  some  cases  a  fine  of  twenty  shillings 
was  imposed.  And  they  deduced  from  this  that  an  Irishman 
might  kill  an  Englishman,  almost  with  impunity,  and  that  the 
life  of  an  Englishman  living  in  their  midst  was  insecure. j  They 
add  that  the  Anglo-Irish  lords  preferred  fining  an  Irishman 
to  killing  him,  for  his  dead  body  was  no  use  to  them,  but  by 
fining    him  they  could  grow  rich. 

Constantly  engaged  in  war  with  Scotland,  meditating  a  war 
with  France,  weak,  irresolute,  incapable,  a  slave  to  a  succession 
of  favourites,  deserted  by  his  wife,  harassed  by  his  nobles, 
Edward  II.  during  his  whole  reign,  bestowed  little  attention 
on  Ireland.  He  was  unable  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  the  Viceroy 
a  force  strong  enough  to  make  him  respected.  He  was  forced 
even  to  withdraw  troops  from  Ireland  for  his  wars,  to  tolerate 
and  even  to  flatter  the  Anglo-Irish  lords,  for  if  they  revolted 
English  power  in  Ireland  was  at  an  end  ;  and  the  wars  and  con- 
quests of  Edward  III.  compelled  him  to  act  similarly.  Instead 
of  curtailing  the  power  of  these  lords  and  restricting  their 
privileges,  greater  power  and  privileges  were  given  them,  and 
new  honors  heaped  upon  them.  Butler  was  made  Earl  of 
Ormond,  %  Fitzjohn  Fitzgerald,  Earl  of  Kildare,||  FitzThomas 
Fitzgerald,  Earl  of  Desmond,*  *  and  over  the  districts  from  which 
they  drew  their  titles  they  were  palatine  lords.  Each  had  the 
power  to  punish  his  own  subjects,  they  created  knights, 
appointed  sheriffs  and  seneschals,  erected  their  scaffolds,  set 
up  their  independent  courts,  made  peace  and  war,  and  their 
sheriff  and  his  officers  regarded  the  King's  sheriff — the  sheriff 
of  the  cross  as  he   was  called — with  disdain,  even  as  their  master 

*  Grace's  Annals^  p.  119^  note. 
t  Ibid.^  p.   85. 

J  In    1322.      (Carte's    Ormond^  Introduction)i     His  father  had   been 
created  Earl  of  Carrick. 
11  About    1 3 15. 
**  In  1329. 


302  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

despised  the  King's  Viceroy  at  Dublin.*  These  palatine  lords, 
of  whom  there  were  nine,  had  soon  outgrown  the 
position  of  subjects  and  had  attained  to  the  power  of 
kings.  Bloated  with  privilege,  intoxicated  with  power,  they 
knew  no  restriction  but  their  own  caprice  and  obeyed  no 
mandate  but  their  passions.  They  made  war  on  the  natives 
as  they  pleased,  but  more  frequently  on  each  other,  and  from 
Desmond  to  Dublin  the  whole  country  was  shaken  by  their 
conflicts.  These  lords  could  no  longer  fling  the  retort  at  the 
Irish  that  it  was  the  Irish  only  who  quarrelled,  for  they  themselves 
were  as  turbulent  as  the  Irish  in  their  worst  days. 

It  was  necessary  (in  June  1325),  to  issue  a  King's  writ 
commanding  Arnold  Power  and  the  Earl  of  Kildare  from  making 
war  on  one  another,  for  they  were  already  levying  mien  for  the 
purpose.  Another  writ  of  the  same  character  had  to  be  issued 
in  the  following  December,  but  two  years  later  war  broke  out. 
At  one  of  their  assemblies  Arnold  Power  had  called  the  Earl 
of  Desmond  a  rhymer.  Desmond  determined  to  be  avenged 
and  got  the  aid  of  the  Birminghams  and  of  Ormond,  while  Power 
was  aided  by  the  De  Burghos.f  The  De  Burghos  were  defeated 
by  Desmond,  many  of  them  killed  and  the  rest  driven  into 
Connaught,  while  Power's  possessions  in  Tipperary  and  Ossory 
were  wasted  and  plundered  by  the  combined  forces  of  Butler 
and  Birmingham,  and  himself  escaped  to  Waterford,  a  fugitive. 
Two  years  later  (1329),  De  Geneville  wasted  Birmingham's 
territory  of  Carbury.|  Nor  did  these  Anglo-Irish  lords  stop 
even  at  murder  ;  and  when  the  Earl  of  Louth  was  murdered 
(1329),  and  the  Earl  of  Ulster  (1333),  it  was  not  the  work  of 
the  natives  ;  but  in  each  case  it  was  one  of  their  own  race  that 
struck  the  assassin's  blow.  Taking  advantage  of  these 
dissensions,  the  native  chiefs  took  courage,  though  they  were 
not  always  successful  in  their  attacks.  The  victory  of  the 
O'Carrolls  (13 18),  and  of  the  O'Nolans  (1322)  was  followed 
a  few  years  later  (1331),  by  the  O'Tooles  capturing  Ferns, 
Cullagh  and  Arklow,  ||  and  in  the  meantime  (1327),  Donal 
MacMurrogh  was  proclaimed  King  of  Leinster,  and  swore  he 
would  go  through  all  Ireland  and  subdue  it.**  As  a  counterpoise 
to  these  successes,  the  O'Connors  of  Offaly  were  severely  defeated 
i|;i32i),  by  the  English  of  Louth  and  Meath,tt  and  Donal 
MacMurrogh    was    taken    prisoner   (1327)    and    lodged    in     the 

*  Davies'  Historical  Tracts,  pp.   1 14-16: 

t  Grace's  Annals,  pp.    103-4-5. 

X  Ibid.,  p.    113. 

II  Grace's  and  Bowling's  Annals : 

**  Grace,  p.    107. 

■ft  Annals  of  Cloninacnotse. 


THE  ENGLISH   COLONISTS   TURN   IRISH.  303 

government  prison  at  Dublin,  though,  aided  by  one  Adam 
Nangle,  he  soon  effected  his  escape,  for  which  negligence  Nangle 
was  hanged.*  Two  years  later,  Butler  wasted  the  country  of 
the  O'Nolans,  and  the  Viceroy,  Darcy,  attacked  and  defeated 
the  O'Byrnes  of  Wicklow.f  Such  was  the  disturbed  state  of 
the  country  that  one  Hamund  Archdeacon,  on  being  fined  ;^40 
for  not  attending  the  parliament  at  Dublin,  got  the  fine  remitted 
because  he  was  able  to  show  that  he  could  not  attend  on  account 
of    the    wars.  I 

The  outlook  in  Ireland  was  so  stormy  and  the  prospects  of 
English  power  so  gloomy,  that  Edward  III.  determined  to  come 
to  Ireland  himself,||  and  in  the  meantime  (1331),  sent  a  new 
Viceroy,  Sir  Anthony  Lucy,  who  was  to  use  strong  measures 
both  against  native  and  Anglo-Irish  ;  and  he  was  but  a  short 
time  in  of^ce  until  he  proceeded  to  act  with  vigour.  He 
summoned  a  parliament  at  Dublin  and  issued  the  usual  writs. 
Desmond  and  others  refused  to  attend  ;  he  adjourned  the 
parliament  to  Kilkenny,  but  they  still  remained  away;  and  then, 
making  his  way  rapidly  to  Limerick,  he  seized  the  Earl  of  Desmond, 
Mandeville,  Walter  de  Burgho  and  William  and  Walter 
Birmingham,    and    flung    them    all    into     prison.  William 

Birmingham  was  tried  and  executed  ;  his  brother,  being  an 
ecclesiastic,  pleaded  its  privileges  with  success  and  was  allowed 
to  go  free,  and  Desmond,  after  a  period  of  confinement,  was 
sent  to  England.  But  these  vigorous  measures  were  not  long 
continued.  Edward  III.  had  no  intention  of  coming  to  Ireland 
and  sought  for  other  fields  for  his  ambition  ;  Lucy  was  recalled 
and  a  Viceroy  of  a  milder  type.  Sir  John  Darcy,  was  appointed 
his  successor  (1332);  the  De  Burghos  and  Mandeville  were 
liberated,  and  Desmond  came  back  to  Ireland  and  so  far  from 
English  power  having  gained,  the  reverse  happened,  for  the  Earl 
of  Ulster  was  killed  (1333),  and  his  relatives  cast  off  their  allegiance 
to  England.* 

During  his  first  viceroyalty  (1330),  Sir  John  Darcy,  not 
having  sufficient  forces  to  fight  the  Irish,  called  to  his  aid  the 
Earl  of  Desmond,  then  the  most  potent  of  the  Anglo-Irish  lords. 
Desmond  was  an  Irish  chief,  as  well  as  an  English  lord,  and 
it  was  in  the  former  capacity  his  aid  was  sought,  more  as  an 
ally  than  as  a  subject.  With  an  army,  many  of  whom  must 
have  been  Irish,  and  amounting  it  was  said,  to  10,000  he  assisted 

*  Grace's  Annals.     D'Arcy  Magee,  Art   MacMurrogh  p.  4. 
t  Ibid. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  120. 
II  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.    178. 

**  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  f^^^.    179-82.     Grace's  Annals.     Leland,   Vol.   Lj 
p.    293. 


304  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

the  Viceroy  ;  but  the  treasury  at  Dublin  was  empty,  the  Viceroy 
was  unable  to  pay  Desmond  and  his  soldiers,  and  the  Earl  had 
recourse  to  the  Irish  system  of  coyne  and  livery.  His  soldiers 
had  fought  for  the  English  colonists.  On  these  they  were  now 
quartered — men  and  horses — eating  and  drinking  at  their  expense, 
wasting  their  crops,  consuming  the  food  and  forage  required 
for  themselves  and  their  own  cattle  and  horses,  dissipating 
their  wealth,  and  guilty,  as  mercenary  soldiers  will,  of  murders, 
robberies  and  rapes.  Their  exactions,  while  they  ruined  the 
English  settlers,  enriched  Desmond  and  increased  his  power, 
for  many  of  the  settlers  gave  up  their  lands,  which  were 
immediately  handed  over  to  Irishmen,  who  held  them  under 
the  Irish  system  of  tenure  and  willingly  recognised  Desmond 
as  their  chief.  And  in  a  short  time  his  rule  was  thus  recognised 
over  Kerry,  Limerick,  and  most  part  of  Cork  and  Waterford. 
Such  rapid  advancement  excited  the  jealousy  and  roused  the 
cupidity  of  the  Earl  of  Ormond,who  quickly  followed  in  Desmond's 
footsteps,  exacted  coyne  and  livery  in  his  turn,  rooted  out  the 
English  settlers  ;  and  over  Tipperary  and  part  of  Kilkenny 
Irish  customs  and  Irish  laws  reigned.  The  Earl  of  Kildare 
was  not  slow  to  copy  these  examples  and  established  the  same 
exactions  and  the  same  customs  with  the  same  results  over 
Kildare  and  part  of  Meath.*  To  complete  the  ruin  of  the  English 
colonists,  they  were  harassed  and  taxed  by  rapacious  government 
ofBcials,  to  such  an  extent  that  Edward  III.  himself  sent  a  letter 
(1336)  to  his  Viceroy,  Chancellor  and  Treasurer,  in  which  he 
states  that  it  had  been  shown  to  him  by  trustworthy  men^ 
"  that  they  and  his  other  ministers,  regarding  the  persons  of 
men  and  yielding  to  men  and  not  to  right,  had  made  one  law 
for  the  rich  and  another  for  the  poor,  and  had  allowed  the  strong 
to  oppress  the  weak,  to  usurp  the  royal  authority,  to  detain 
the  king's  debts  and  to  perpetrate  various  crimes  ;  and  that 
instead  of  protecting  the  poor,  who  were  willing  to  be  obedient 
subjects,  they  harassed  and  aggrieved  them  against  all  justice 
to  their  great  loss,  and  thereby  gave  a  pernicious  example  to 
others."  f  Burdened  with  these  accumulated  evils,  some  of 
the  English  settlers  left  the  country  altogether,  and  others  joined 
the  Irish,  intermarried  with  them,  adopted  their  customs  and 
their  laws,  but  all  were  lost  to  the  English  government  in  Ireland. 
The  policy  of  Edward  III.  towards  Ireland  was  a  mixture 
of  caresses  and  coercion,  of  fitful  periods  of  severity  and  kindness. 
The  appointment  of  Ormond  as  Viceroy  +  was  followed  by  the 


*  Davies'  Historical  Tracts ^  pp.    152-6. 

t  Grace's  Annals,  p.  129,  note. 

J  He  was  only  deputy  for  Sir  John  Darcy  (1329)1 


THE   ENGLISH   COLONISTS   TURN   IRISH.  305 

appointment  of  Lucy  ;  the  execution  of  William  Birmingham 
and  the  imprisonment  of  Desmond,  only  to  be  again  followed 
by  the  release  of  Desmond  and  the  recall  of  the  stern  Viceroy. 
But  after  a  few  years  harsh  measures  were  again  used.  In 
1339,  there  was  universal  war  in  Ireland.*  Some  of  the 
Geraldines  joined  with  the  Irish  fought  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  the 
O'Dempseys  and  the  people  of  Kildare  were  at  war,  and  the 
next  year  the  MacMurroghs  and  the  O'Nolans  continued  | 
to  war  upon  the  English.  These  constant  wars,  this  perpetual 
unrest,  the  shrinkage  of  his  territories  in  Ireland  drained  the 
resources,  as  well  as  tried  the  patience,  of  the  English  king. 
He  blamed,  and  not  without  justice,  the  Anglo-Irish  lords  for 
much  of  the  trouble  ;  because  some  of  them  had  adopted  Irish 
ways,  he  thought  all  were  disloyal  to  England  and  he  issued  a 
decree  to  his  Viceroy,  Sir  John  Darcy  (July  27th,  1341),  directing 
him  to  remove  from  their  offices  in  Ireland  "  all  Irishmen 
and  all  Englishmen  who  had  married  in  Ireland, 
and  had  lands  and  possessions  in  that  country  but  had  nothing 
in  England,  and  to  appoint  in  their  places  Englishmen,  who 
had  lands  and  possessions  in  England,  and  that  no  future 
alienation  of  the  royal  demesnes  or  other  possessions  in  the 
King's  hands  should  be  made  without  a  proper  writ  of  inquiry." 
He  also  revoked  all  grants  made  by  his  father  or  himself  "  by 
which  measure  almost  the  whole  of  Ireland  was  moved  to 
immediate  insurrection  against  the  King."  ;j:  To  set  up  a  barrier 
between  the  English  by  birth  and  the  English  by  descent  was 
not  to  promote  peace  but  discord  ;  to  brand  with  indignity  and 
disqualification  the  descendants  of  those  whose  swords  had 
first  won  dominion  in  Ireland  for  the  English  crown,  was  to 
rouse  the  hatred  and  extinguish  the  loyalty  of  those  powerful 
Anglo-Irish  lords  ;  and  at  a  parliament  held  in  Dublin  by  the 
Viceroy,  in  the  October  of  that  year,  Desmond  and  his  friends 
refusedtoattend.il  Instead  of  doing  so  they  called  a  parliament 
of  their  own  at  Kilkenny,  protested  their  loyalty  to  England  ; 
and  by  a  petition  to  the  King  they  acknowledged  the  disorders 
of  Ireland,  and  pointed  out  that  it  was  the  King's  officers — the 
English  by  birth  in  whom  he  trusted  so  much — who  were  to 
blame.  In  this  petition  they  ask  the  King,  how  a  land  full 
of  war  can  be  governed  by  a  man  ignorant  of  war,  as  many 
of  the  Viceroys  were,  how  a  King's  officer  can  in  a  short  time 
acquire  great  wealth,  and  why  the  King  is  not  made    richer 

*  Grace's  Annals. 

■\  Clynn's  Annals,  1340-42.    The  O'Mores  also  recovered  all  Leix  and 
expelled  the  settlers. 

+  Grace's  Annals,  pp.  133-4: 
II  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.    192. 

X 


306  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

by  Ireland  ;  and  they  give  instances  ot  the  persecutions  and 
peculations  of  these  officials  of  English  birth,  adding  that  the 
settlers  of  English  descent  were  so  impoverished  that  they  could 
scarcely  live,  "  par  grevance  de  ditz  enemys  (the  Irish)  dune 
part  et  excesse  doffice  de  ministres  dautre  part."  Impressed 
either  by  justice  or  expediency — probably  the  latter — Edward  III. 
favourably  received  the  Prior  of  Kilmainham  and  Thomas  de 
Wogan,  who  were  the  bearers  of  this  petition,  revoked  his  letter 
of  the  previous  July,  and  even  dismissed  some  of  the  officials, 
amongst  them  two  judges  of  the    Common  Pleas.* 

The  good  relations  established  between  Edward  and  the 
Anglo-Irish  did  not  last  long.  In  preparation  for  his  wars 
in  France,  he  had  summoned  Desmond,  Kildare  and  many 
others  to  meet  him  at  Portsmouth  (1344)  with  some  men-at-arms 
and  hobelars,  who  were  to  receive  the  King's  pay  while  at  war  ; 
the  Anglo-Irish  neglected  the  summons  |  and  irritated  by  their 
refusal,  Edward  appointed  Sir  Ralph  UfYord,  his  Irish  Viceroy, 
and  bade  him  deal  sternly  with  these  Anglo-Irish  lords.  Ufford 
was  well  fitted  for  such  work,  a  man  unjust  and  greedy  of  gain, 
doing  everything  by  force,  giving  justice  to  none,  robbing  rich 
and  poor  ;  and  the  chronicles  of  the  time  mention  that  all  the 
time  he  was  in  Ireland  it  rained,  that  when  he  died  (1346),  it 
was  a  cause  of  joy  to  all  men,  and  that  immediately  the  weather 
became  fine. J  It  was  said  that  his  harsh  measures  were  prompted 
by  his  wife,  the  widow  of  the  murdered  Earl  of  Ulster, ||  who 
no  doubt  did  not  love  the  Irish,  whether  of  Irish  or  English 
descent ;  but  whatever  the  cause,  or  whoever  the  instigator, 
his  measures  were  harsh  and  stern,  and  the  memory  of  them 
was  bitter.  He  called  a  parliament  at  Dublin  which  Desmond 
did  not  attend,  and  taking  this  as  sufficient  excuse  he  marched 
south  (1345),  ravaged  the  Earl's  lands,  seized  his  castles  in 
Kerry,  hanged  his  seneschal,  Sir  John  Cotterell,  and  the  warders 
of  his  castles.  Power  and  Grant,**  deprived  of  their  possessions 
all  those  who  had  previously  gone  bail  for  him  ;  and  by  treachery 
captured  the  Earl  of  Kildare  and  cast  him  into  prison  in  Dublin. 
When  Ufford  died,  his  widow  had  to  carry  away  his  remains 
secretly  to  England  fearing  that  the  rage  of  the  populace  might 
be  directed  against  his  dead  body.  A  milder  type  of  Viceroy — Sir 
John  Morris — was  appointed,    the    Earl    of  Kildare's  aid  was 

"*  Grace's  Annals^    pp.    134-5. 

t  Ii)id.j  p.  136.  They  must  not  have  altogether  refused,  for 
there  were  6,000  Irish  footmen  in  Edward's  Army  at  Crecy,  but 
evidently  they  did  not  do  all  that  was  expected  of  them. 

\  Ibid.,  pp.  137-41. 

II  Gilbert's   Viceroys^  pp.   198-202 

**  Clynn's  Annals. 


THE   ENGLISH   COLONISTS   TLTRN   IRISH.  307 

sought  and  obtained  by  Edward  III.  \  and  he  distinguished 
himself  so  much  at  the  siege  of  Calais,  that  he  was  knighted 
by  the  King.* 

These  harsh  measures  of  various  viceroys  and  the  harsh 
decrees  of  English  kings  irritated  the  Anglo-Irish  lords  and 
alienated  their  sympathies  from  England  ;  the  milder  measures 
which  followed,  they  took  as  a  proof  of  English  weakness  and 
of  their  own  power;  the  petty  exactions  and  oppressions  of  English- 
born  of^cials  disgusted  them,  and  turning  from  England,  they 
abandoned  English  ways,  and  became  more  Irish  than  the  Irish 
themselves.  They  spoke  the  language  of  the  Irish,  adopted  their 
manners  and  habits,  practised  their  law,  fostered  their  children, 
and  stood  gossips,  or  sponsors  ;  and  when  they  went  into  battle 
it  was  Irish  war  cries  that  were  on  their  lips.f  Sir  John  Davies 
attributes  this  transformation  to  the  desire  of  these  lords  to 
acquire  wealth  and  power,  which,  especially  by  coyne  and  livery, 
they  could  do  under  Irish  but  not  under  English  law,  and  this 
was  no  doubt  a  powerful  operating  cause,  and  quite  in  accordance 
with  the  traditional  cupidity  of  their  ancestors.  But  he  ignores 
another  cause  which  cannot  be  lost  sight  of  and  was  potent 
in  its  effects — it  is  the  attractive  and  absorbing  power  of  the  Irish 
themselves.  The  Irishman  has  been  often  sketched  and  often 
with  no  friendly  hand.  Rash  in  word,  generous  in  deed, 
impulsive,  warm-hearted,  sympathetic,  his  scanty  purse  open 
to  the  needy,  his  cottage  to  the  wanderer  and  the  outcast, 
coveting  no  man's  goods,  recklessly  prodigal  of  his  own,  brave 
in  battle,  chivalrous  to  a  foe,  faithful  to  a  friend,  with  a  fidelity 
which  even  death  was  powerless  to  conquer— such  a  character 
could  not  but  win  the  esteem  of  the  mail-clad  warrior,  who 
fought  so  often,  both  with  and  against  him,  and  who  had  seen 
his  qualities  so  often  displayed.  But  when  the  hush  of  peace 
had  succeeded  to  the  clash  of  arms,  when  the  lord  had  laid  his 
battle  harness  aside  and  sat  in  the  hall  of  his  feudal  castle, 
surrounded  by  his  Irish  friends — vassals  and  chiefs — the  attractive 
influence  of  the  Irish  character  was  more  potent  still.  He  was 
charmed  with  the  song  and  story  in  the  musical  Irish  tongue  ; 
the  ready  wit,  the  harmless  repartee  made  the  hours  pass  by 
upon  rapid  wings,  x^nd  when  the  harper  struck  the  chords 
of  his  harp  with  that  skill  for  which  the  Irish  harper  was  so 
famed,  when  he  sang  of  war  and  battles  and  love,  of  soldier's 
bravery  and  chieftain's  skill,    when  the  notes  that  swelled  loud 


*  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  pp.  202-3. 

f  Kildare's  war    cry    was    "  Crom  aboo,"    from    his    castle  at  Croom. 
Desmond's  was  "  Shannet  aboo."     Butler's  was  "  Butler  aboo." 
(Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II.,  p;  163.) 


308  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

with  victory  again  sank  into  a  plaintive  moan,  as  he  sang  a 
dirge  for  those  who  had  fallen,  and  the  eyes  that  brightened  and 
flashed  became  dimmed  with  tears,  then  that  alien  lord,  touched, 
softened,  fascinated,  even  in  spite  of  himself,  was  glad  to  call 
these  people  his  countrymen,  and  proud  if  he  could  be  called 
their  chief.  The  conversion  of  many  a  stern  warrior  from 
English  to  Irish  ways  was  due  to  such  subtle  influences  as  these. 
The  years  that  succeeded  the  death  of  Ufford  were  not 
particularly  eventful,  thovigh  there  were  disturbances  and  wars. 
O'Carroll  was  able  to  defeat  the  English  (1346),  and  drove 
them  all,  or  nearly  all,  out  of  Ely  O'Carroll,*  the  same  year 
the  Viceroy,  Birmingham  and  the  Earl  of  Kildare  joined  in 
making  war  on  the  O' Mores  ;  the  following  year  Nenagh  was 
plundered  by  the  Irish  who  in  Leinster  rose  everywhere  against 
the  English  ;  O'Mellaghlin  was  defeated  by  the  English  (1349)  ; 
a  few  years  later,  the  English  of  Dublin  were  defeated  (1358), 
by  the  O' Mores  with  the  loss  of  240  men  ;  and  so  weak  had 
the  English  colony  become  that  Black-rent,  which  already  had 
been  paid  to  MacMurrogh,  was  now  paid  to  one  of  the  O'Tooles 
to  defend  the  English  possessions  round  Tallaght.j  The  evils 
caused  by  these  wars  must  have  been  great  nor  must  we  forget 
the  exactions  of  the  offlcials,:j:  who,  to  carry  on  the  war,  took 
the  people's  cattle,  sheep  and  provisions,  without  even  paying 
for  them,  all  except  the  Viceroy,  Rokeby,  who  declared  that 
he  would  eat  off  wood  and  pay  in  gold.H  To  add  to  all  these 
evils  there  was  bad  weather,  a  mortality  among  animals,  and 
worst  of  all,  a  terrible  pestilence,  which  swept  away  so  many 
persons  that  the  land  was  left  untilled.*  *  The  pestilence  reached 
its  height  in  1348,  and  in  that  year  a  monk  at  Kilkenny^ 
seeing  the  dead  around  him  on  every  side,  and  the  living  struck 
down  so  fast,  in  the  midst  of  death  and  sickness  and  lamentation 
breathing  an  atmosphere  tainted  with  pestilence,  and  wondering 
if  even  one  of  the  human  race  would  survive,  sat  down  in  his 
convent  to  tell  and  write  what  he  saw.  "  That  plague  deprived 
villages  and  towns  of  every  human  inhabitant,  so  that  scarcely 
one  was  left  alive  in  them  ;  those  who  touched  the  dead  or  d)nng 
immediately  sickened,  and  the  penitent  and  the  confessor  were 
.carried  together  to  the  grave.  Through  fear  and  horror  men 
hardly  dared  to  perform  the  works  of  piety  and  mercy,  to  visit 
the  sick  and  bury  the  dead.  Many  died  from  boils  and  abscesses 
and    pustules  in  their  shins  or  under  their  armpits,  others  died 

*  Clynn's  Annals. 

t  Grace's  and  Clynn's  Annals.       Gilbert's    Vzcerays-,  pp.-  204-206. 

I   Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.   212. 

!!  Grace's  Annals,  p.    149. 

**  Ibid.,  p.   143.        Clynn's  Annals. 


THE   ENGLISH   COLONISTS   TURN   IRISH,  309 

from  spitting  of  blood,  and  others  from  pain  in  the  head  were 
turned  into  madmen."  * 

In  1355,  the  Earl  of  Desmond  had  grown  to  be  such  a  favourite 
with  Edward  III.,  that  he  appointed  him  Viceroy  for  life,  but 
this  was  not  for  long,  for  he  died  in  the  early  part  of  the  next 
year.  His  successors  were  Rokeby  and  St.  Amand,  then  the 
Earl  of  Ormond  (1359),  and  in  the  next  year,  the  Earl  of  Kildare. 
But  the  English  colony  was  shrinking  in  extent,  day  by  day  ; 
the  power  of  England  in  Ireland  was  small,  and,  extinguished 
in  the  other  three  provinces,  in  Leinster  also  it  seemed  doomed  to 
speedy  extinction. 

*  Friar  Clynn  seems  to  have  a  presentiment  that  he,  too,  would  fall  a 
victim  to  the  plague  ("  inter  mortuos  mortem  expectans,")  and  if  perchance 
anyone  was  left  alive  who  might  continue  these  Annals,  he  left  some  parch- 
ment for  the  purpose.  It  was  not  continued  past  the  end  of  1348,  and 
the  scribe  adds  that  it  appears  the  author  died,  as  he  expected.  Clynn's 
words    are    worth    giving.  "  Videns    haec    multa    mala  et    mundum^ 

totum  quasi  in  maligno  positum,  inter  mortuos  mortem  expectans  donee 
veniat,  sicut  veraciter  audivi  et  e.xaminavi  sic  in  scripturam  redegi,  et  ne 
scriptura  cum  scriptore  pereat  et  opus  simul  cum  operariodeficiat,  dimitto 
pergamenam  pro  opere  continuando,  si  forte  in  futuro  homo  superstes 
remaneat,  an  aliquis  de  genere  Adae  hanc  pestilenciam  possit  evadere  et 
opus  continuare  inceptam." 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

The  Statute  of  Kilkenny . 

The  opportunity  of  Edward  III  to  pacify  Ireland  allowed  to  pass — His 
son  Lionelj  Duke  of  Clarence,  appointed  Viceroy — His  antipathy  to 
the  Irish — His  arrival  in  Ireland — Operations  in  Leinster — Returns 
to  England,  but  comes  to  Ireland  a  second  time — Summoned  a 
parliament — The  Statute  of  Kilkenny — Its  spirit — Its  effect  on  the 
Irish  and  Anglo-Irish — Its  penal  provisions  as  to  dress,  language^ 
priests  and  monks  and  bards — Some  of  its  useful  provisions. 

There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  nations  as  of  men  which  it  is 
wisdom  to  take  at  the  flood.  These  favourable  moments  occur 
but  seldom,  and  if  allowed  to  pass,  so  much  the  worse  for  the 
nation  concerned,  for  they  pass  never  to  return.  And  in  1360 
a  favourable  moment  had  arrived  to  bring  the  Irish  of  all  classes 
together,  to  abolish  strife  and  establish  peace  with  one  govern- 
ment and  one  system  of  law.  A  king  sat  on  the  English  throne 
the  lustre  of  whose  achievements  far  outshone  those  of  any  king 
since  the  Conqueror.  With  Scotland  he  was  at  peace  ;  the  Treaty 
of  Bretigny  (1359)*  had  enlarged  his  continental  possessions 
as  it  had  ended  his  war  with  France  ;  and  at  home  none  of  his 
nobles,  nor  any  combination  of  them,  would  dare  to  measure 
swords  with  the  hero  who  had  humbled  the  chivalry  of  France, 
and  had  led  into  his  capital  a  captive  French  king.  Peace  was 
everywhere,  except  in  Ireland,  and  if  Edward  had  turned  his 
steps  to  that  country  at  the  head  of  those  veterans  whom  he  had 
so  often  led  to  victory,  he  would  have  found  it  easy  to  establish 
peace  in  Ireland,  not  that  peace  which  would  come  from  empty 
forms  of  submission,  such  as  was  tendered  to  Henry  II.  and 
John,  given  with  reluctance  and  extorted  by  fear,  but  a  peace 
founded  on  the  recognition  of  ancient  rights  and  which,  established 
with  just  and  equal  laws,  would  be  destined  to  endure.  He 
had  sometimes  wished  that  the  Irish  would  be  admitted  to  the 
ranks  of  his  subjects  and  be  entitled,  as  such,  to  the  protection 
of  English  law,  but  each  time  the  Anglo-Irish  lords  stood  in  the 

*  Hume's  History  of  England 


THE  STATUTE   OF   KILKENNY.  311 

way.  But  he  could  have  now  done  what  hitherto  had  not  been 
done,  for  these  lords  were  powerless  to  resist  him.  Their  hatred 
and  jealousy  of  one  another  was  notorious  ;  they  were  not  likely 
to  combine  for  any  purpose  in  rebellion  against  an  English  king, 
least  of  all  against  the  hero  of  Crecy  and  Poictiers.  Secured  in 
the  possession  of  the  lands  they  held,  admitted  to  the  rights  of 
English  subjects,  the  native  Irish  would  have  hailed  him  as  a 
deliverer,  and  not  only  in  Leinster,  but  in  the  other  provinces 
as  well,  they  would  have  hastened  to  take  advantage  of  his  offer. 
A  few  chiefs  here  and  there  would,  perhaps,  have  held  aloof  and 
talked  much  of  their  national  independence,  which  their  own 
folly  and  factious  spirit  had  made  it  impossible  to  defend,  but  the 
greater  number  would  have  quietly,  perhaps  even  gratefully, 
submitted.  If  Edward  III.  had  done  this,  if  he  had  deprived 
the  Anglo-Irish  lords  of  powers  which  they  never  should  have 
got,  and  reduced  them  to  the  levelfof  subjects,  if  he  had  suppressed 
tumults  and  established  peace,  if  he  had  curbed  the  oppressor 
and  thrown  the  shield  of  law  and  justice  over  the  oppressed, 
his  memory  would  be  held  in  honour  in  Ireland  ;  and  he  would 
have  earned  a  glory  before  which  that  of  Crecy  and  Poictiers 
would  have  grown  dim.  But  he  did  not  realise  the  advantage 
of  a  contented  Ireland,  his  ambition  was  for  military  glory  ; 
Ireland,  it  was  said,  was  a  bad  country  to  make  war  in,  and 
instead  of  going  there  himself  he  sent  his  third  son  Lionel,  Duke 
of  Clarence,  appointed  him  Viceroy,  and  gave  him  unlimited 
powers. 

This  young  man  was  married  to  Elizabeth  de  Burgho,  and 
it  is  thought  that  this  fact  explains  much  of  his  conduct  in  Ireland. 
His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  that  Earl  of  Ulster  who  had  been 
murdered  in  1333.  She  was  then  but  a  year  old  and  was  taken 
to  England,  where  she  had  since  lived.  Of  her  father's  tragic 
death  she  was  often  reminded  by  her  mother,*  who  hated  the 
Irish  ;  the  mother's  feelings  were  communicated  to  the  daughter, 
who  in  turn  inspired  her  husband  with  the  same  antipathy  and 
hate.f  Lionel  landed  at  Dublin  (1361)  with  an  army  of  1500 
men — knights,  esquires  and  archers  on  horseback,  drawn  from 
Lancashire,  Staffordshire,  Worcestershire  and  Shropshire,  in 
which  commands  were  held  by  Lord  Stafford,  Sir  John  Carew, 
Sir  William  Windsor  and  the  Earl  of  Ormond,  Lionel  himself 
being  in  supreme  command. J  Edward  III.  had  declared  that 
Ireland  was  almost  lost,  and  placed  much  of  the  blame  on  the 
absentees  who  lived  in  England  and  took  no  measures  to  defend 

*  It  will  be  remembered  she  was  married  to  Sir  Ralph  Ufford,  one 
of  the  most  unpopular  of  the  Viceroys. 

t  The  Duchess  of  Clarence  died  in  Ireland  (1362.) 

X  Davies'    Historical    Tracts,    pp.    24-5.     Grace's    Annals,    p.    153. 


312  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

their  lands  in  Ireland,  and  he  demanded  subsidies  from  them, 
which  the}'  gave,  to  the  extent  of  two  years  revenue,  out  of  their 
Irish  lands.*  Lionel  first  marched  against  the  O'Byrnes  of 
Wicklow,  and  such  was  his  distrust  and  even  hatred  of  the  Irish, 
that  he  issued  a  proclamation  prohibiting  anyone  of  Irish  birth, 
whether  of  English  descent  or  not,  from  coming  near  his  army.f 
But  the  O'Byrnes  came  without  asking  his  leave  and,  perhaps 
under  cover  of  night,  attacked  and  killed  one  hundred  of  the 
English. J  Returning  to  Dublin,  Lionel  soon  changed  his  quarters 
to  Carlow,  transferred  the  exchequer  there  and  granted  ;£500 
to  build  a  wall  round  the  town.  But  though  his  army  was  large 
and  well  equipped  and  the  whole  revenue  of  the  country  was 
placed  at  his  disposal,  he  was  able  to  effect  but  little,  and  captured 
but  a  few  places  along  the  east  coast  of  Ulster. ||  The  O'Byrnes 
remained  unpunished  for  the  slaughter  of  one  hundred  English 
soldiers,  the  O'Connors  of  Connaught  wasted  the  English  posses- 
sions in  Meath  and  King's  County  and  burned  the  churches  of 
Kilkenny  (1362),**  and  MacMurrogh  was  so  powerful  that  he 
drove  the  English  baron,  Carew,  out  of  the  district  of  Idrone 
(1366).+!  One  of  the  objects  Lionel  had  in  coming  to  Ireland 
was  to  recover  his  wife's  estates  in  Ulster  and  Connaught,  but 
this  object  he  was  unable  to  attain.  The  Burkes  fought  often 
among  themselves  and,  especially  in  1366,  there  were  great 
dissensions  among  them,i;|:  and  perhaps  Lionel  hoped  much  from 
these  quarrels,  but  if  so  he  hoped  in  vain,  for  the  Burkes  were 
quite  ready  to  fight  among  themselves  and  equally  ready  to 
unite  against  him  ;  and,  piqued  and  crestfallen,  he  was  unable 
to  recover  these  lands  which  by  right  belonged  to  his  wife  and 
which  had  been  usurped  by  her  rebellious  kindred.  In  this  frame 
of  mind  he  summoned  a  parliament  at  Kilkenny,  and  had  enacted 
that  well-known  Statute  about  which  so  much  has  been  written. 
The  Statute  of  Kilkenny  has  been  praised  by  Davies  who 
declares  that  it,  coupled  with  the  '^presence  of  the  Lord  Lionel," 
restored  the  English  government  among  the  English  colonists, 
made  a  notable  alteration  in  the  state  and  manners  of  the  people, 
and  that  this  improvement  lasted  till  the  Wars  of  the  Roses. ii|| 

*  Grace's  Annals,  pp.    152-3. 

t  Ibid. 

X  Campion's  History  of  Ireland:  Campion  says,  no  man  "  wisted  " 
how  it  was  done. 

II  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.   220. 

**  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise. 

tt  Bowling's  Annals. 

XX  Four  Masters.      Statute  of  Kilkenny  (Hardiman's  Introduction.) 

III!  Historical  Tracts,  pp.  172-179.  Davies  was  a  good  deal  of  a  courtier, 
and  seems  to  have  thought  that  a  prince,  because  he  was  a  prince,  was 
armed  with  a  magician's  wand. 


THE  STATUTE  OF  KILKENNY.  313 

But  he  gives  no  facts  in  support  of  this  statement,  nor  could  he, 
for  the  English  colony  did  not  get  strong  but  weak,  and  the 
Statute  of  Kilkenny  was  not  observed  even  by  those  for  whom 
it  was  specially  intended — the  Irish  of  English  descent.  A  truer 
description  of  the  Statute  is  "  that  it  was  no  more  than  a  peevish 
and  revengeful  expression  of  the  resentment  Duke  Lionel  felt 
for  the  opposition  he  had  met  with  and  the  loss  of  those  lands 
he  had  come  over  to  claim."*  Clarence  was  disappointed  and 
angry,  he  had  not  recovered  his  lands  as  he  thought  he  would, 
he  had  met  with  more  opposition  from  the  native  Irish  than  he 
expected,  he  was  not  enthusiastically  supported  by  the  Anglo- 
Irish,  he  was  equally  displeased  with  both,  and  had  this  Statute 
passed  the  object  of  which  could  be  none  other  than  to  keep 
them  in  perpetual  antagonism. 

The  Irish  who  lived  in  the  provinces  outside  Leinster  were 
not  affected  by  this  enactment ;  they  did  not  feel  its  provisions 
nor  recognise  them  ;  but  the  natives  who  lived  in  Leinster,  in 
the  districts  where  the  English  king's  writ  could  be  enforced 
— the  Pale,f  as  it  began  soon  to  be  called,  and  amid  the  English 
and  Anglo-Irish  who  were  subjects  of  England — on  these  the 
law  was  specially  severe.  They  were  not  English  subjects,  they 
were  not  recognised  as  such  in  the  Statute  ;  and  the  spirit  in 
which  it  regarded  them  is  shown  in  the  Preamble  where  they 
were  spoken  of  as  Irish  enemies,  and  a  lament  is  uttered  that 
these  Irish  enemies  are  raised  up  and  exalted  "  contrary  to  reason." 
Parliamentary  and  royal  sanction  was  thus  given  to  the  language 
and  acts  of  the  Anglo-Irish  lords,  who  regarded  the  native  Irish 
as  enemies,  mere  Irish,  whom  it  was  no  crime  to  kill,  even  in 
times  of  peace.J  These  natives  lived  among  the  English  settlers  ; 
they  had  business  and  social  relations  with  them  ;  with  some 
they  were  allied  by  ties  of  kindred,  and  when  the  English  subject 
was  prohibited  from  having  any  business  transactions  with  them 
and  punished  if  he  had,  both  English  colonist  and  Irish  native 
were  aggrieved.  The  practice  had  grown  for  the  settlers  to  stand 
sponsors  or  gossips  for  the  Irish  children,  to  have  their  own 
children  fostered  or  nursed  among  them,  and  intermarriages 
between  the  two  races  were  common,  but  all  these  were  specifically 
prohibited  as  crimes  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  and  the  perpe- 
trators of  them  pronounced  to  be  traitors  to  "  our  lord  the  king." 


*  Hardiman's  Statute  of  Kilkenny  (Introduction),  quotation  from 
De  Lolme. 

t  The  term  Pale  was  not  used  until  late  in  the  14th  century,  the  name 
used  in  English  Acts  of  Parliament  being  March,  or  Border.  (Statute  of 
Kilkenny,  Hardiman's  Introduction.) 

+  Davies'  Historical  Tracts,  pp.  83    et  seq. 


314  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

It  was  prohibited  to  allow  the  Irish  to  graze*  the  lands  of  the 
settlers,  it  was  prohibited  to  sell  them  either  horses  or  armour 
in  time  of  peace  or  victuals  in  time  of  war,  a  prohibition  intelligible 
enough,  for  if  the  Irish  adopted  the  use  of  armour,  they  would 
be  a  better  match  for  their  opponents  and  would  suffer  fewer 
defeats.  In  addition,  the  distinctive  Irish  dress| — the  mantle, 
the  bared,  or  cap,  and  the  trowse — were  interdicted  under  pain 
of  forfeiting  lands  and  tenements,  if  he  had  such,  and  liberty, 
if  he  had  not.  The  same  prohibition,  with  the  same  penalty 
attached,  was  directed  against  having  an  Irish  name,  riding 
without  a  saddle,  as  the  Irish  did,  and  speaking  the  Irish  tongue. 
And  the  inhabitants  of  the  Pale  were  prohibited  from  using 
"  the  plays  which  men  call  hurlings  with  great  sticks  and  a  ball 
upon  the  ground,"  but  were  told  instead  to  accustom  themselves 
to  draw  the  bow  and  throw  the  lance  and  such  "  gentlemanlike 
games. "I  The  bards  and  minstrels  and  story-tellers  the  English 
government  held  in  special  abhorrence.  They  seemed  to  regard 
them  as  spies  who  in  the  interest  of  their  own  countrymen, 
came  among  the  English  and  Anglo-Irish  to  discover  their 
intentions  and  their  plans.  The  capacity  of  the  Irish  bards  to 
lampoon  was  well  known,  so  also  was  the  skill  of  the  harper  ; 
and  the  English  feared  the  influence  of  these  on  their  Anglo-Irish 
fellow-subjects  and  dreaded  that  their  stories  and  their  songs 
would  seduce  them  from  English  and  attract  them  to  Irish  ways. 
And  to  prevent  this  it  was  enacted  that  pipers,  story-tellers, 
rhymers  and  other  such  should  not  come  among  the  English,  nor 
should  the  English  receive  them  or  make  them  gifts,  and  whoeve- 
did  so  should  be  attainted  and  imprisoned.  Of  all  these  enact 
ments  none  was  more  vexatious  than  that  prohibiting  the  Irish 
language,  and  this  not  only  to  the  Irish  living  within  the  Pale 
but  to  many  of  English  descent  as  well,  who  had  lived  so  long  in 
Ireland  and  mixed  so  much  with  the  natives,  that  they  knew 
the  Irish  language  and  knew  no  other  tongue. 

These  legislators  at  Kilkenny  had  enlarged  conceptions  as 
to  the  limits  of  their  powers,  and  not  content  with  legislating 
on  purely  temporal  matters,  they  passed  into  the  regions  of  the 

*  The  term  used  by  Davies  for  this  grazing  was  Creaght,  which  was 
formerly  applied  to  those  who  were  shepherds  in  time  of  peace,  and  who 
drove  away  the  prey  in  time  of  war.  In  Donegal  they  were  armed  with 
clubs  and  meadogs  (knives).     (Hardiman's  notes,  Statute  of  Kilkenny,  ppj 

41-43-) 

f  In  the  case  of  the  poor  the  mantle  was  of  frieze,  in  the  upper  classes 
it  was  of  fine  cloth,  bordered  with  a  woollen  or  silken  fringe  ;  the  bared 
was  probably  of  similar  material,  it  was  not  a  hat  but  a  cap  ;  the  trowse 
was  breeches  and  stockings  joined  together  in  one  piece  and  was  tight  fitting. 
(Harris's  Ware,  Vol.  II.,  pp.   174-178.) 

\  Chapter  Vl. 


THE   STATUTE  OF   KILKENNY.  $1$ 

Spiritual  and  stepped  between  the  Creator  and  His  creature. 
The  proper  ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  the  Pale  were  those  who 
understood  the  people  and  whom  the  people  could  understand, 
and  it  ought  to  be  a  matter  for  the  Church  authority  alone  to 
say  who  these  ministers  were  to  be,  and  what  their  qualifications, 
and  not  for  the  Parliament,  whose  domain  of  activity  belonged 
to  the  State  and  to  affairs  of  State.  Yet  this  parliament  decreed 
that  it  was  not  allowable  to  confer  a  benefice  on  anyone  who 
did  not  use  the  English  tongue,  nor  could  a  native,  unless  he 
was  of  English  descent,  be  admitted  to  any  collegiate  or  cathedral 
church  in  the  Pale  by  provision,  collation  or  presentation  of 
any  person,  nor  to  any  benefice  ;  and  if  so  admitted  the  appoint- 
ment was  cancelled  and  the  place  held  void.  Neither  could  any 
religious  Order  receive  any  "  mere  Irishman "  into  its  com- 
munity.* To  deprive  the  Irish-speaking  people  of  ministers 
of  the  Gospel  of  their  own  race  and  tongue,  whom  alone  they 
could  understand  was  to  starve  their  souls,  and  put  obstacles 
before  them  on  their  road  to  Heaven  ;  and  the  strangest  thing 
is  that  such  legislation  should  be  acquiesced  in  by  three  Arch- 
bishops and  five  bishops,  and  that  they  should  even  issue  a 
sentence  of  excommunication  against  all  those  who  should  violate 
these  penal  decrees.  How  they  reconciled  this  action  with  their 
duty  it  is  dif^cult  to  see.  Perhaps  as  churchmen  they  were  of 
the  character  of  that  English  cardinal  who  had  to  lament  in  his 
old  age  that  he  had  been  more  faithful  to  his  prince  than  to  his 
God.f 

But  all  the  provisions  of  the  Statute  of  Kilkenny  were  not 
of  this  penal  character.  They  were  restrictions  of  individual 
liberty,  as  all  laws  are,  but  some  of  them  were  obviously  framed 
for  the  common  good,  and  if  enforced  and  obeyed  the  community 
would  gain  instead  of  suffer.  In  the  very  first  chapter  of  the 
Statute  it  was  laid  down  that  the  rights  and  privileges  and 
immunities  of  the  Church  were  to  be  faithfully  maintained, 
tithes  were  to  be  paid,  and  with  their  levying  or  collection  no 
layman  was  to  interfere.  Whoever  it  excommunicated  was  to 
be  shunned  by  all,  and  the  civil  power  was  to  co-operate  in 
enforcing  its  decrees.  Treaties  and  agreements  between  English 
subjects  were  to  be  faithfully  observed,  and,  if  broken,  the  offender 

*  Hardiman  {Statute  of  Kilkenny,  p.  46)^  has  justly  stigmatised  this 
enactment  as  the  most  severe  of  all.  It  could  not,  however,  be  carried 
out,  for  there  was  soon  a  scarcity  of  clergy  within  the  Pale,  and  Irish  priests 
had  to  be  admitted. 

t  Their  names  indicate  that,  for  the  most  part,  they  were  English — 
Minot,  John*of  Oxford,  Young,  Le  Reve,  De  Swafham,  but  better  might 
be  expected  from  O'CarroU  (Cashel),  O'Connor  (Killaloe)  and  O'Grady 
(Tuam) — these  are  Irish  names.      (Ware's  Bishops.) 


3l6  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  liable  to  forfeiture  of  liberty  and  lands.  Nor  were  malefactors 
to  be  harboured  under  a  similar  penalty,  and  if  anyone  were  to 
enfeoff  another  with  his  lands,  so  that  he  might  escape  his  legal 
obligations,  or,  perhaps,  commit  a  crime  with  impunity,the  enfeoff- 
ment in  such  cases  was  not  to  stand  and  the  law  was  to  be  enforced 
and  the  lands  attempted  to  be  thus  rendered  free  from  liability 
were  to  be  seized  and,  if  necessary,  confiscated.  Against  grasping 
and  corrupt  officials  there  was  a  special  enactment  and  neither 
a  magistrate  could  receive  bribes  from  a  litigant,  nor  could  a 
warden  or  constable  extort  money  from  his  prisoner.  Nor  were 
there  any  more  salutary  enactments  than  those  which  had 
reference  to  the  great  lords  and  tended  to  put  limits  to  their 
turbulence  and  rapacity.  They  were  not  to  keep  kerns  or  hoblers* 
for  the  purpose  of  preying  upon  the  King's  subjects,  though 
they  might  have  some  within  their  own  territory,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  guarding  and  defending  it.  But  if  any  of  these  kerns 
or  hoblers  took  from  the  King's  subjects  victuals,  or  any  other 
goods,  the  hue  and  cry  was  to  be  raised  after  them  and  they 
were  to  be  treated  by  all  as  common  robbers  to  be  attacked  and 
resisted  by  all,'^and,  if  they  effected  their  escape,  their  lord  was 
to  be  held  accountable  and  might  be  put  in  judgment  of  life 
and  members,  and  his  lands  forfeited. 

One  of  the  most  fruitful  sources  of  strife  was  the  power 
exercised  by  these  nobles  to  make  peace  or  war  as  they  pleased, 
a  power  which  never  seems  to  have  been  founded  on  any  legal 
right  and  was  now  taken  away.  Henceforth  there  was  to  be 
one  peace  and  one  war,  nor  was  war  ever  to  be  declared  except 
after  consultation  between  the  king  and  Parliament  and  then 
the  war  was  to  be  continued  against  the  Irish,  until  they  were 
"  finally  destroyed."  f  To  obtain  supplies  for  such  wars  there 
were  to  be  four  "  wardens  of  the  peace  "  appointed  in  each  county, 
who  were  to  assess  the  amount  of  subsidy  each  individual  subject 
was  to  give  and  to  review  the  men-at-arms,  hoblers  and  footmen, 
who  were  to  be  enrolled.  Finally,  these  nobles  were  to  be 
answerable  for  their  own  retainers  to  this  extent  that  if  they 
were  notified  of  any  crimes  committed  by  them,  they  were  bound 
to  have  them  arrested  and  lodged  in  the  next  jail  and,  failing  to 
do  this  after  due  notice  being  given  them,  the  lord  was  to  be 
assessed  himself  and  made  amenable  for  whatever  crime,  or 
crimes,  his  retainer  had  committed. 

Such  was  the  Statute  of  Kilkenny,  made  up  of  some  useful, 
but  of  many  mischievous  provisions.  Conceived  in  hatred,  the 
outcome  of  failure  and  disappointment,  it  sought  to  bring  together 

'*  The  hoblers  were  light-armed  cavalry.      Kerns  were  infantry, 
t  Chapter  x. 


THE  STATUTE  OF  KILKENNY  317 

English  and  Anglo-Irish,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  native  Irish, 
and  to  have  the  Anglo-Irish  and  the  native  Irish  in  perpetual 
conflict.  But  it  was  barren  of  useful  results  and  its  provisions 
were  not,  indeed  could  not  be,  fully  enforced.  Within  a  short 
time  it  was  necessary  to  allow  priests  who  spoke  Irish  into  the 
Pale,  to  minister  to  the  Irish-speaking  people  there  ;  there  were 
still  intermarriages  between  the  Irish  and  Anglo-Irish  ;  and 
within  twenty  years  it  was  necessary  to  dispense  the  Earl  of 
Desmond  from  one  of  its  provisions,  for  he  had  sent  his  son  to 
be  fostered  at  the  palace  of  O'Brien  of  Thomond.* 

*  This  dispensation    was  given  by   Richard   II.,  and   bears  date,   8th 
December,   1388. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 
A   Heroic  Leinster  Chief. 

The  native  Irish,  the  Anglo-Irish,  and  the  English  king — Effects  of  the 
Statute  of  Kikenny — The  Earl  of  Desmond  defeated  by  O'Brien  and 
O'Connor — Condition  of  Thomond  and  of  Connaught — O'Connor 
Don  and  O'Connor  Roe — O'Connor  Don  submits  to  Richard  II. — 
Continued  strife  in  Connaught — Condition  of  Ulster — English  power 
outside  Leinster  and  Meath — The  Pale — The  MacMurroghs — Art 
MacMurrogh  the  Elder,  Art  the  Younger — Feeble  condition  of 
the  English  colony — Richard  II  comes  to  Ireland — Submission  of 
the  Irish  Chiefs — Their  reception  at  Dublin — Mortimer  and  Art 
MacMurrogh — Battle  of  Kells — King  Richard's  second  expedition — 
Battle  of  Callan,  and  of  Kilmainham — State  of  the  Pale — Art  Mac 
Murrogh's  last  years  and  death. 

Since  the  days  of  Strongbow  the  scourge  of  the  native  Irish 
was  the  rapacity  and  insolence  of  the  Anglo-Irish  lords.  They 
seized  their  lands,  they  hunted  them  into  bogs  and  mountains, 
they  harassed  them  with  continued  war,  they  denied  them 
justice  or  law,  and  in  every  case  frustrated  the  designs  of  the 
English  government  to  admit  them  to  the  status  of  English 
subjects.  These  lords  acted  ostensibly  in  the  interests  of  England 
but  in  reality  in  their  own  interest  ;  much  of  what  they  did 
was  unknown  in  England,  and  much  of  what  they  did  when 
it  was  known  was  condemned.*  And  the  Irish,  or  at  least  some 
of  them,  entertained  the  belief  that  if  the  English  king  knew 
the  exact  state  of  things  in  Ireland,  he  would  restrain  these 
lords  from  perpetrating  so  much  injustice  and  would  protect 
the  native  Irish  from  their  rapacity.  To  such  as  these  the  Statute 
of  Kilkenny,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  passed  into 
law,  must  have  come  as  a  painful  surprise.  For  the  parliament 
of  Kilkenny  was  called  together  by  the  son  of  Edward  III.,  acting 
in  his  father's  name  and  armed  with  his  father's  power,  and 
its  enactments  were  stamped  with  his  approval.      And  even  the 

*  This  was  so  in  the  case  of  De  Burgho,  condemned  by  Henry  III.  (1241) 


A   HEROIC  LEINSTER   CHIEF.  319 

blindest  could  not  but  see  that  towards  the  native  Irish  the  spirit 
of  that  famous  Statute  was  one  of  hatred  and  contempt.  When 
they  were  described  by  an  Act  of  Parliament  as  aliens  and  enemies, 
outcasts  in  their  own  land  with  whom  it  was  high  treason  even 
to  associate,  it  was  time  for  the  Irish  chiefs  to  take  alarm  and 
to  lay  aside  their  mutual  rivalries  and  jealousies,  that  is,  if  they 
wished  to  save  themselves  and  their  people  from  extermination. 
And  it  was  no  doubt  the  recognition  of  mutual  and  impending 
danger  that  brought  O'Connor  of  Connaught  and  O'Brien  of 
Thomond  together.  Against  their  united  forces  the  Earl  of 
Desmond  marched  (1370),  but  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Mague, 
in  Limerick,  he  was  defeated  with  heavy  loss,  many  of  his  followers 
were  slain,  and  himself  was  taken  prisoner.*  The  conquerors 
marched  on  Limerick  and  that  city,  so  long  the  stronghold  of 
English  power  in  that  quarter,  fell  into  their  hands.  MacNamara 
was  appointed  Warden  of  the  city  but  someone  acting  in  the 
English  interest  treacherously  murdered  himf  and  the  city  soon 
reverted  to  the  English. 

Such  rapid  and  decisive  success  should  have  urged  the  Irish 
to  continue  united,  and  they  might  have  defeated  Ormond  as 
easily  as  they  had  defeated  Desmond.  But  these  alliances  were 
as  quickly  dissolved  as  they  were  formed  ;  they  were  ever  lacking 
in  permanence  or  cohesion  ;  O'Connor  went  back  to  Connaught, 
nor  do  we  find  these  two  chiefs  again  acting  in  concert,  x^nd 
one  of  the  MacNamaras  deserted  the  O'Briens,  became  the  King's 
lieee  subject,  and  was  paid  to  make  war  on  his  countrymen,  t 
The  power  of  Thomond  was  further  weakened  by  quarrels  among 
the  O'Briens  themselves,  for  there  were  two  rivals  for  the  headship 
of  the  province,  and  their  strife  was  long  and  bitter.  The  cause 
of  one  of  them — ^Turlogh — was  espoused  by  the  Burkes  of 
Connaught,  who  marched  with  an  army  into  Thomond  and 
compelled  Brian  O'Brien,  who  had  attained  to  temporary  pre- 
eminence, to  fly  from  the  province.  But  these  same  Burkes  were 
soon  defeated  by  the  MacNamaras,  whose  territory  they  had 
invaded,  and  who,  almost  unaided,  were  strong  enough  to  drive 
them  back.  This  victory  caused  Burke's  nominee  to  lose  the 
headship  of  Thomond.  His  rival,  Brian,  who  was  married  to 
MacNamara's  daughter,  made  peace  with  Burke  and  gave  him 
his  daughter  in  marriage  and,  strengthened  by  these  alliances, 
assumed  the  reins  of  power.  And  a  few  years  later  (1380),  with 
Burke  as  his  ally,  he  compelled  some  of  the  Munster  English  to 

*  Grace's  Annals.  Leland,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  323-4.  He  erroneously  places 
the  battle  field  in  Mayo  (at  the  Monastery). 

t  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters. 

X  Grace's  Annals,  pp.  155-6.  He  had  an  order  for  50  marks,  May 
7thi   13745 


320  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

pay  him  tribute.*  For  years  there  was  peace  in  Thomond.  The 
O'Briens  ceased  quarrelling  ;  the  Burkes  were  their  allies  ;  and 
Desmond  was  on  such  friendly  terms  that  one  of  his  sons  was 
fostered  at  O'Brien's  palace.  Once,  (in  1409),  there  was  a  quarrel 
between  two  rivals  for  the  chieftaincy  ;  f  Connor  O'Brien  was 
dethroned  and  had  to  fly  to  Connaught,  but  next  year  he  returned 
and  was  strong  enough  to  recover  his  inheritance,  and  for  the 
remainder  of  his  reign  of  nearly  twenty  years  there  was  peace 
in  Thomond. 

During  these  years  the  state  of  Connaught  was  deplorable. 
Of  the  royal  race  of  O'Connor  there  were  still  many  members, 
and  this  is  the  same  as  to  say  there  was  still  constant  strife.  No 
two  members  of  the  family  could  agree,  or,  if  they  did  for  the 
moment  agree,  it  was  probably  to  make  war  upon  another  of 
their  race  and  name.  Active,  energetic,  sometimes  with  military 
capacity,  always  brave,  they  wasted  their  energies  and  squandered 
their  talents  in  fratricidal  contests.  The  patrimony  of  their  house 
was  diminished  in  extent,  its  substance  was  in  alien  hands,  only 
the  shadow  of  what  it  was  remained,  but  over  the  shadow  the 
quarrels  and  contests  were  without  number  and  without  end. 
The  lessons  of  history,  the  memory  of  what  they  were  and  of 
what  they  had  lost,  the  happiness  of  their  own  people,  the  miseries 
they  had  so  often  endured  by  war — these  things  appealed  to 
them  in  vain.  They  would  establish  no  law,  they  would  recognise 
no  rule  which  could  regulate  a  peaceful  and  orderly  succession 
to  the  headship  of  their  clan  ;  and  if  such  a  law  was  ever  established 
it  was  quickly  broken  through.  Each  prince  felt  that  he,  and 
none  other,  was  qualified  to  be  chief,  and  he  would  submit  to 
another  only  as  long  as  he  was  powerless  to  resist.  The  claims 
of  age,  the  binding  force  of  family  compacts  he  despised,  acknow- 
ledged no  supremacy  except  that  of  superior  force  ;  and  as  soon 
as  he  could  get  together  suf^cient  followers  to  assert  himself,  he 
was  prepared  to  attack  the  ruling  chief  and  hurl  him  from  the 
seat  of  power  ;  and  he  was  prepared  to  accept  any  aid  and  to 
enter  into  any  arrangement,  however  base.  The  hardships 
endured  by  his  own  clansmen  gave  him  no  trouble,  he  wasted 
their  lives  and  destroyed  their  property  without  compunction, 
for  he  knew  nothing  of  that  patriotism  which  involves  the 
effacement  of  self,  and  is  more  concerned  for  the  advancement 
of  the  common  good.  It  is,  indeed,  true  that  other  provinces 
of  Ireland  suffered  much  from  the  rivalries  and  jealousies  of 
their  chiefs,  but  in  none  of  them,  filled  with  tumults  as  they 
were,  can  a  parallel  be  found  for  Connaught,  cursed  for  centuries 
by  these  contests  of  the  O'Connors. 

*  White's  History  of  Clare,  pp.    143-6. 
•j-  Four  Masters. 


A   HEROIC   LEINSTER   CHIEF.  32 1 

Into  these  contests  the  other  chiefs  of  Connaught — the 
MacDermotts,  the  Burkes  and  others  were  drawn,  and  the 
chronicles  of  the  period  can  repeat,  year  after  year,  with  monot- 
onous iteration,  that  there  were  wars  in  Connaught.  On  the 
death  of  Hugh  O'Connor  (1368),  there  was  the  usual  turmoil, 
and  instead  of  the  new  chief  Roderick  continuing  to  support  and 
follow  up  the  advantage  gained  by  the  defeat  of  the  Earl  of 
Desmond,  he  was  more  concerned  to  wreak  vengeance  on  a 
member  of  his  own  family.  By  treachery  he  captured  Tiege 
O'Connor  and  gave  him  over  to  Donal  O'Connor  of  Sligo,  and 
the  unfortunate  prisoner  was  instantly  put  to  death.*  A  little 
later  (1375),  Roderick  O'Connor  was  at  war  with  O'Kelly  of 
Hy-many,  but  this  time  he  was  blameless,  for  O'Kelly  was  aided 
by  the  Burkes,  and  O'Connor  was  acting  in  his  own  defence. 
Two  years  later  the  same  coalition  attacked  him,  but  again 
Roderick  was  successful,  and  at  Roscommon  his  assailants  were 
overthrown,  both  the  O'Kellys  and  the  Burkes  losing  many  of 
their  chiefs.f  That  same  year  some  quarrel  arose  between 
O'Connor  and  MacDermott,  O'Connor  entered  Moylurg,  wasted 
and  spoiled  it,  killed  some  of  the  inhabitants,  burned  their 
buildings,  destroyed  their  corn  and  carried  off  their  cattle,  and 
when  he  had  thus  satisfied  his  appetite  for  war,  he  made  peace 
with  MacDermott  and  even  compensated  him  for  the  injuries 
done  him.J  Perhaps  it  was  easy  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the 
chief  but  it  could  not  be  easy  to  compensate  the  unfortunate 
people,  whose  breadwinners  had  been  slaughtered  and  whose 
homes  and  fields  had  been  laid  waste. 

At  the  death  of  Roderick  (1384),  another  war  of  succession 
arose  between  two  members  of  the  O'Connor  family,  each  named 
Turlogh.  Each  was  powerful  and  persistent,  each  had  allies  ;|j 
and  the  prospect  seemed  to  be  a  war,  long,  bitter,  and  indecisive, 
in  which  the  unfortunate  province  was  to  be  still  further  wasted 
and  destroyed.  A  conference  was  arranged  and,  after  much 
deliberation,  it  was  agreed  by  the  contending  parties,  and  by 
their  allies  on  each  side,  that  the  inheritance  of  the  O'Connors 
was  to  be  divided.  Turlogh  Roe,  or  the  Red,  was  to  be  head  of 
the  O'Connors  of  Sligo,  while  his  rival,  Turlogh  Don,  or  the 
Brown,  was  to  be  head  of  the  O'Connors  of  Roscommon.  This 
arrangement  abolished  for  ever  the  old  system  of  one  King  of 
Connaught,  as   head   and   Chief  of   all    the   O'Connors    of    the 

*  O'Conors  of  Connaught,  p.  149.      It  is  not    said  what   crime  he  had 
committed — perhaps  that  of  aspiring  to  be  chief. 

t  Ibid. 

X  Annals  of  Clonntacnoise. 

II  O'Conors,  p.   150.      On  one    side  were  the    O'Kellys,  Burkes  and 
MacDor.oghs,  on  the  other  the  MacDermotts. 

Y 


322 


HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 


province,  but  in  the  circumstances  it  seemed  the  best  to  be  done, 
and  it  was  hoped  that  each,  satisfied  with  the  possessions  he 
had  got,  would  keep  the  peace.  The  hope  was  vain.  Both  were 
dissatisfied,  each  thought  he  should  be  supreme  ;  and  to  sustain 
his  pretensions  had  recourse  to  arms,  with  the  result  that  it  is 
written  in  the  Annals  for  1384,  that  there  was  universal  war 
in  Connaught.*  The  same  entry  could  be  made  in  many  succeed- 
ing years,  for  the  wars  between  O'Connor  Don  and  O'Connor  Roe 
were  of  yearly  occurrence.  They  ceased  from  war  when  their 
strength  was  exhausted,  they  resumed  hostilities  when  their 
strength  had  been  renewed,  and  in  1392-6-7  and  -8f  there  was 
war  between  them,  until  finally  (1406),  O'Connor  Don  was 
treacherously  inveigled  into  the  house  of  one  of  the  Burkes, 
the  ally  and  confederate  of  O'Connor  Roe,  and  there  he  was 
put  to  death  by  his  rival. J  In  the  meantime  that  same  O'Connor 
Don,  in  the  hope  of  humiliating  his  rival  and  obtaining  English 
aid  for  that  purpose,  had  gone  to  Waterford  (1395),  and  made 
his  submission  to  Richard  II.  In  the  church  of  the  Friars  Minors 
in  that  city,  Turlogh,  Burke  and  Birmingham  went  through 
the  form  of  submission  ;  and  Turlogh,  "  removing  his  mantle, 
hood,  girdle  and  dagger,  on  bended  knees  at  the  feet  of  the  King, 
promised  to  be  faithful  to  the  English  king,  to  attend  his  Parlia- 
ment, to  do  what  a  good  and  faithful  liegeman  ought  and  is 
bound  to  do  to  his  natural  liege  lord."  Then  he  kissed  the  Gospels 
and  took  the  oath,  and  he  and  Burke  and  Birmingham  were 
soon  created  knights  on  board  the  ship  Trinity,  in  the  port  of 
Waterford,  where  golden  spurs  were  put  on  their  heels  and  a 
sword  given  them  by  Richard  to  be  honestly  used.|| 

The  murder  of  O'Connor  Don  did  not  end  the  war  between 
the  two  branches  of  the  O'Connor  family.  His  successor,  Cahal, 
sought  and  obtained  the  aid  of  Mac  William  Burke,  O'Connor  Roe 
had  the  aid  of  MacDermott,  and  for  years  a  desultory  war, 
ruinous  to  the  people,  but  indecisive  in  its  results,  was  carried 
on,  and  this  at  a  time  when  unity  and  combination  among  the 
O'Connors  would  have  effected  much,  not  only  for  Connaught, 
but  for  Ireland.  Concurrently  with  these  wars  between  the 
O'Connors,  there  were  other  quarrels  and  wars  between  the 
other  Connaught  chiefs.  The  O'Rorkes  and  O'Reillys  were  at 
war  (1390),  so  also  were  the  MacRannells  and  O'Rorkes  in  the 
same  year,  the  MacDermotts  were  quarrelling  among  themselves 

*  Annals  of  Loch  Ce.     Four  Masters. 

\  Four  Masters. 

\  O' Conors,  p.    156. 

II  0  Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.  154-6.  O'Connor  Don  on  this  occasion 
claimed  to  have  power  to  act  for  a  great  many  of  the  Connaught  chiefs — 
MacDonagh,  O'Dowd,  O'Hara,  O'Gara,  MacDermott,  O'Rorke  and  others. 


A   HEROIC   LEINSTER   CHIEF.  323 

(i393),*and  in  these  contests  the  other  chiefs  were  generally 
engaged,  on  one  side  or  the  other — the  O'Kellys  of  Hy-many, 
the  MacDonoghs  of  Tirerill  and  the  Burkes — all  of  whom  made 
war  with  little  justification  and  insufficient  cause,  made  treaties 
and  broke  them,  and  changed  sides  according  as  they  were  swayed 
by  passion  or  caprice.  What  the  province  suffered  during  these 
years  we  can  judge  from  an  entry  in  the  Annals  of  Loch  Ce 
(1398),  where  it  is  stated  that  Burke  and  O'Connor  Roe  entered 
Tirerill  with  their  forces  and  that  "  the  entire  country  was 
destroyed  by  them,  both  grass  and  corn,  lake  (the  islands  and 
buildings  of  the  lakes)  and  church,  forts,  fastnesses  and  strong- 
holds." 

While  Connaught  was  thus  desolated  every  year  by  the 
contests  of  factious  chiefs,  the  state  of  Ulster  was  one  of  com- 
parative calm,  for  though  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen  sometimes 
quarrelled,  yet  there  were  sometimes  intervals,  and  long  intervals, 
of  peace.  In  neither  province  was  the  succession  fixed,  and  this 
sometimes  led  to  quarrels,  but  when  a  chief  had  asserted  his 
right  to  rule,  he  was  left  undisturbed  within  his  own  territory, 
by  his  own  people,  except  in  rare  cases,  and  only  at  his  death 
was  there  a  renewal  of  the  combat.  There  was  a  war  of  succession 
among  the  O'Donnells  (1380);  the  same  year  O'Donnell  was 
defeated  by  O'Neill,  and,  taking  advantage  of  their  quarrels,  the 
Viceroy,  Mortimer,  entered  Ulster,  penetrated  into  Tirowen  and 
Tirconnell  and  destroyed  the  fortress  of  Castlefin,  in  Donegal, 
and  another  fortress  in  Tirowen.^  But  the  effect  of  his  raid  was 
not  permanent,  nor  did  it  teach  a  lesson  either  to  O'Neill  or 
O'Donnell,  for  at  intervals  the  combat  was  renewed  between 
them.  In  1395,  O'Donnell  made  war  on  O'Neill  and  defeated 
him  ;  two  years  later,  that  same  vigorous  chief  ransacked  and 
plundered  the  buildings  on  the  islands  of  Lough  Erne  and  wasted 
the  district  of  Carbury,  in  Sligo  ;  the  next  year  (1398),  he  was 
again  at  war  with  O'Neill  ;  two  years  subsequently  O'Neill 
invaded  Tirconnell  and  destroyed  much  of  the  corn  there,  and, 
perhaps  in  retaliation,  the  war  was  resumed  in  the  following 
year. J  But  during  these  years  the  power  of  O'Neill  had  grown 
and  instead  of  directing  his  whole  energies  to  the  subjugation  of 
O'Donnell  which,  with  a  prince  of  so  much  energy,  was  no  easy 
matter,  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  remaining  English  settlers 
inV  Ulster,  defeated  those  of  Down,  crushed  the  Savages  and 
their  allies  in    the  south  of  Antrim,  ||  (1383),  and  burned  the 

*  Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 

t  Four  Masters.    Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.    Gilbert's  Viceroys,  p.  245. 
X  Four  Masters  at  these  dates. 

II  Hugh  O'Neill  and  Ravelin  Savage  met  in  a  charge  of  cavalry  and 
killed  each  other.     {Four  Masters.) 


^24  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

fortress  of  Carrickfergus,  defeated  the  English  of  Dundalk  (1392). 
and  wrung  submission  and  tribute  from  that  city.  He  had 
meanwhile  asserted  his  superiority  over  the  Irish  chiefs  of  the 
province  and,  in  1398,  with  the  exception  of  Tirconnell,  all 
Ulster,  both  Irish  and  English,  were  compelled  to  acknowledge 
him  as  their  ch'ef.* 

At  the  opening  of  the  fifteenth  century,  English  power, 
outside  of  Leinster  and  Meath,  had  almost  ceased  to  exist.  After 
his  submission  to  Richard  II.  at  Waterford,  Burke  had  been 
appointed  Lord  Deputy  of  Connaught.f  but  it  would  be  hard  to 
recognise  an  English  subject  in  the  new  ofBcial,  for  he  spoke 
Irish  and  no  other  tongue  ;  and  when  he  made  his  submission 
to  Richard  an  interpreter  had  to  be  employed. +  In  defiance  of 
the  Statute  of  Kilkenny  he  had  intermarried  with  the  Irish, 
joined  in  their  quarrels  and  made  war  on  them  and  on  members 
of  his  own  family,  without  any  authority  from  England.  Nor 
did  he,  after  his  appointment  as  Lord  Deputy  (1403),  re-establish 
English  influence  in  Connaught,  for  it  is  probable  that  had  he 
tried  he  would  be  unable,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  even 
tried.  In  the  South  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  after  his  defeat  in 
1370,  remained  in  salutary  dread  of  the  O'Briens,  and  did  not 
again  measure  swords  with  them.  Neither  did  he  take  advantage 
of  the  occasional  quarrels  between  his  neighbours  —  the 
MacCarthys  in  the  east,  or  the  Sullivans  in  the  south — and  when 
he  died  (1399),  it  was  with  the  reputation  of  being  a  scholar  and 
a  poet,  rather  than  a  warrior  or  statesman. ||  And  his  successor, 
far  from  quarrelling  with  the  Irish  chiefs,  quarrelled  only  with 
the  Earl  of  Ormond  ;  and  it  was  after  making  a  raid  into  his 
territory  that  he  was  drowned  (1400),  while  crossing  the  river 
Suir.**  It  was  L^einster  that  became  the  centre  of  historical 
interest  during  these  years.  Even  there  English  power  was  on 
the  wane  ;  the  district  where  the  King's  writ  held  good — the 
Pale  with  its  shifting  boundaries  and  varying  extent — was 
gradually  being  contracted  in  its  limits  ;  and  in  the  very  midst 
of  the  province  an  Irish  chieftain  had  arisen,  whose  patience  and 
perseverance  and  military  skill  recall  the  memory  of  Brian  Boru, 
a  chieftain  against  whom  the  whole  forces  of  England  had  been 
repeatedly  hurled  and  as  often  flung  backward  in  defeat.  This 
chieftain's  name  was  Art  MacMurrogh. 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  Hardiman's  History  of  Galway,  p.  6t,.  He  was  appointed  on  the 
5th  December,   1403,  at  the  fee  of  80  marks 

X  O' Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.  155-6  The  interpreter  was  the  Eart 
of    Ormond,  who  knew  both  Irish  and  English  or  rather  Norman-French* 

II  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.     Four  Masters. 
**   Meehan's  History  of  the  Geraldines,  p.    41. 


A   HEROIC  LEINSTER   CHIEF.  325 

When  Dermot  MacMurrogh  died  (11 71),  he  left  no  legitimate 
male  descendant,  and  his  castles  and  lands  and,  as  far  as  he  could, 
his  authority  over  Leinster  he  bequeathed  to  his  daughter,  Eva, 
and  her  husband,  Strongbow.  But  a  female  ruler  was  unknown 
among  the  Irish  chiefs  ;  the  Leinster  clans  were  not  disposed  to 
acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Dermot's  daughter,  still  less 
that  of  her  husband,  a  foreign  noble,  who  had  made  war  upon 
them  and  robbed  many  of  them  of  their  possessions,  and,  instead, 
they  set  up  as  King  of  Leinster  an  illegitimate  S)n  of  the  late 
king.  This  prince  was  named  Donal,  and  from  being  fostered 
at  Kilcavan,  near  Gorey,  in  Wexford,  he  was  called  Donal 
Kavanagh.  His  talents  were  considerable,  and  his  physical  endow- 
ments were  such  that  he  was  called  Donal  the  Handsome. 
Attracted  by  these  qualities  of  mind  and  body,  his  illegitimacy 
was  forgotten,  and  he  was  raised  by  the  native  chiefs  to  the 
position  of  King  of  Leinster.  He  was  amongst  those  who  sub- 
mitted to  Henry  IL  and  (in  1175)  he  was  killed  in  battle 
with  the  O' Nolans.  In  his  family  the  dignity  of  King  of  Leinster 
was  maintained,  but  those  kings  for  over  a  century  disappear 
from  history,  and  it  is  not  until  1283,  that  we  hear  ot  a  Murtogh 
MacMurrogh  and  his  son  Art,  who  lost  their  heads  at  Arklow. 
A  little  later,  another  of  these  princes  displayed  his  standard 
within  sight  of  Dublin,  but  was  defeated  by  Butler  (13 16), 
and  a  few  years  subsequent  to  this  date  (1327),  Donal  Mac  Art 
MacMurrogh  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  English  and  confined 
in  Dublin  Castle,  from  which,  by  the  aid  of  Adam  Nangle,  he 
soon  escaped.  Embittered  by  his  imprisonment,  he  made  ceaseless 
and  not  unsuccessful  war  upon  the  English  colonists,  and  in  a 
few  years  he  had  conquered  almost  all  Carlow  and  Wexford, 
and  so  dreaded  was  his  successor  Maurice,  and  so  powerful, 
that  the  English  government  paid  him  eighty  marks  a  year 
('I335)>  ^ot  to  molest  their  possessions*  and  willingly  recognised 
him  as  The  MacMurrogh,  that  is,  as  the  lawful  chief  of  the 
Leinster  Irish.  The  rightful  successor  of  Maurice  was  Dermot 
MacMurrogh,  but  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  English  and  kept 
in  confinement  till  his  death  (1369),  and,  in  consequence.  Art 
MacMurrogh  became  King  of  Leinster,  and  in  time  became 
recognised  by  the  English  as  The  MacMurrogh,  and  like  his 
predecessor  was  paid  the  usual  stipend  of  eighty  marks  a  year. 
But  the  good  relations  between  Art  and  the  English  did  not  last  ; 
some  cause  of  quarrel  arose  between  them  and  he  was  proclaimed 

*  Memoir  of  Art  MacMurrogh,  by  Thomas  D'Arcy  Magee,  pp.    1-6.- 
This  is  one  of  the  earliest,  if  not  quite  the  earliest,  instances  of  thes 
payments,  which  afterwards  became  so  common  as  Black  Rent — given  to 
keep  the  Irish  chiefs  quiet,  not  by  way  of  pension,  as  has  been  sometimes 
contended. 


326  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

a  traitor  (1358),  at  an  English  parliament  held  at  Castledermot, 
and  great  preparations  were  made  to  crush  him.*  In  the  war 
that  followed  it  was  not  the  Irish  chief  who  was  defeated  but 
his  opponents,  nor  did  the  Duke  ot  Clarence  fare  any  better 
a  few  years  later.  He  defeated  the  Viceroy,  De  Windsor,  1369, 
and  about  the  same  time  seized  upon  the  lands  and  castles  of 
Carew  in  Idrone  and  continued  to  hold  them  in  spite  of  the 
English.  So  feeble  had  the  colonists  become,  that  the  barrier 
of  the  Pale  was  removed  from  Carlow  to  Dublinf  (1373);  the 
government,  unable  to  communicate  with  Wicklow  by  land 
had  to  send  supplies  by  sea,  the  O'Briens  had  risen  in  Limerick, 
the  Clan  Gibbon  and  Roches  assailed  Youghal,  Kildare's  town 
of  Adare  was  sacked  and  burned,  the  Treasury  was  exhausted, J 
the  Viceroy  was  unable  to  pay  his  troops  and  levied  forced 
subsidies  on  the  Colonists  ;  and  when  De  Windsor  returned  to 
England  after  his  second  term  of  the  Viceroyalty  (1376),  and 
after  many  years  spent  in  Ireland  and  many  wars  with  the  natives, 
he  had  to  declare  that  he  could  never  pass  beyond  the  borders 
sufficiently  far  to  learn  the  nature  of  the  interior  of  the  country, 
or  the  condition  of  the  natives.  ||  When  Art  died,  1377,  it  was 
with  the  reputation  of  being  the  greatest  of  his  race,  but  his  son, 
also  named  Art,  who  succeeded,  was  destined  to  be  greater  still. 
He  was  then  but  twenty  years  old,  active,  hardy,  vigorous,  a 
daring  rider,  dexterous  in  the  use  of  the  lance  and  already  of 
proved  military  capacity,  for  he  had  won  fame  in  his  father's 
wars.  From  the  government  at  Dublin  he  received  his  yearly 
stipend  of  eighty  marks,  but  he  had  married  an  Anglo-Irish 
wife,  Eliza  le  Veele,  Baroness  of  the  Norragh,  her  lands  in  Kildare 
w^ere  sought  to  be  confiscated  by  the  Crown,  because  as  an  English 
subject  she  had  violated  the  Statute  of  Kilkenny  and  this  led 
Art  to  retaliate  by  making  war  on  the  English.**  The  O'Byrnes, 
O'Tooles,  O'Nolans  and  O'Dempseys,  enthusiastically  supported 
him,  the  colonists  were  everywhere  overborne  and  by  the  year 
1389,  the  limits  of  the  Pale  did  not  reach  on  the  south,  beyond 
Bray,  nor  on  the    north,  beyond  Drogheda.+t    Whether  in  war 

*  Magee's  Art  MacMurrough,  pp.  6-7.  Grace's  Annals,  pp.  149-15  ij 
notes. 

t  Ibid.,  p.    10. 

+  When  Murrogh  O'Brien  of  Thomond  attacked  the  Leinster  Colonists 
^^Z77^,  he  was  bought  off  with  the  payment  of  100  marks,  but  only  9 
marks  remained  in  the  Treasury  ;  the  remainder  had  to  be  got  by  borrowing 
— from  the  Prior  of  the  Hospitallers  16  marks,  from  Fitzwilliam  a  horse, 
value  20  marks,  from  FitzGerald  a  horse,  20  marks,  from  Lord  de  Burgh 
a  horse,  20  marks,  from  John  More  a  BED,  value  30  shillings.  (Gilbert's 
Viceroys,  p.   243.) 

II  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  pp.   240-1.  **  Ibid.,  p.  266. 

XX  Magee's    Art  MacMurrogh,     pp.    14-15. 


A   HEROIC   LEINSTER   CHIEF.  327 

or  diplomacy,  Art  had  shown  himself  the  superior  of  every 
English  Viceroy  with  whom,  in  one  capacity  or  other,  he  had 
to  deal. 

Richard    II.    was    then    King   of   England,    and    great   was 
his    annoyance  at   the  continued  success  of   Art  MacMurrogh  ; 
and   when   he  laid  claim   to   the  imperial    crown  of  Germany, 
by  virtue  of  his  marriage  with  Anne  of  Bohemia,  he  was  derisively 
told  by  his    rivals  to    go    back  and  conquer  Ireland  before  he 
could   wear  an  imperial  crown.*       Mortified  at   these  taunts,  he 
determined   to   go  to   Ireland  himself  and   crush  this  audacious 
Leinster  chief,  and  in  October,    1394,  with  4.000   men-at-arms 
and    30,000   archers,   he   cast   anchor   at    Waterford.      He   was 
acompanied  by  his  uncle,  the  Earl  of  Gloucester,    by      Roger 
Mortimer,  Earl  of  March,  Mowbray,  Earl  of    Nottingham  and 
by   many  other   English   nobles   and   ecclesiastics.      With    such 
an  army  he  concluded  he  would  have  little  trouble  in  vanquishing 
the  King  of  Leinster,  and  after  a  few  days  rest  at  Waterford, 
he  marched  north,   intending  probably  to  make  his  first  stay 
at    New  Ross,   and    from    this  as  his    headquarters   to    waste 
MacMurrogh's  territory,  and  bring  that  chieftain  as  a  suppliant 
to  his  feet.  But  he  overrated  his  own  strength  as  he  underrated 
the  resource  and  skill  of  his  opponent,  and  the  difficulties  of 
the  country  through  which  he  had  to    pass.     Art  received  early 
intelligence   of   his   designs  and    with    his   army   swooped   down 
on  New  Ross,  burst  open  its  gates,  plundered  its  inhabitants, 
carried   off   everything   which   was   useful    for   himself   and   his 
army  ;   and  when  Richard  reached  the  town,  he  found  it  a  mass 
of  ruins,  without  food  to  supply  his  army  or  houses  to  shelter 
them,  or  fortified  walls  behind  which  they  might  repose  in  peace. 
Nor  was  this  all.      On  their  march  to    Kilkenny,  whither  the 
English   bent   their   steps,   they    were   ceaselessly   harassed      by 
MacMurrogh.      His    army    was     much    inferior    to    the    enemy 
in  numbers,  but  they  knew    the  country  well — its  rivers  and 
valleys  and  woods — they  led  the  English  into  ambuscades,  they 
cut  down  straggling  parties,  they  harassed  them  by  night  attacks  ; 
and  when  Richard  arrived  at  Kilkenny,    his  army  was  thinned 
in   numbers  and   depressed   in  spirits,   and   had   lost    much    of 
the   vigour   and   confidence   with   which    they    were   animated, 
when   they  landed  at  Waterford   from   their  ships.f       But  the 
King  was  still  confident  of  success,  and,  in  the    arrogance    of 


*  Leland's  History,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  339-40.  Lingard  assigns  the  reason 
as  a  wish  to  divert  his  melancholy,  because  of  the  death  of  Anne  (Vol.  III.-j 
p.    174).     Perhaps  both  reasons  were  combined. 

t  Four  Masters.  Magee,  pp.  20-25.  Chronicles  of  Froissart  (Globe 
Ed.),  p.  430. 


328  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

superior  numbers,  he  haughtily  announced  to  Art  MacMurrogh 
and  the  other  Leinster  chiefs,  if  they  would  surrender  all  the 
castles  and  lands  which  they  then  held,  he  would  graciously 
allow  them  to  hold  in  peace  all  the  lands  which  they  could 
conquer  from  the  other  Irish  enemies  of  England.  Those 
terms  were  necessarily  rejected.*  Deeply  mortified,  Richard 
pursued  his  journey  northwards  ;  the  Leinstermen  continued 
their  guerilla  tactics,  cut  off  isolated  parties  of  the  English, 
lowered  their  numbers  and  their  spirits,  until  at  length  even 
Richard's  pride  was  humbled  and  he  was  compelled  to  send 
a  further  message  to  Art,  requesting  an  interview  at  Dublinj 
This  proposal  was  accepted  f  and  Richard  continuing  his  journey, 
arrived  at  Dublin,  where  a  palace  was  set  up  for  his  accommo- 
dation at  Hoggin  Green,  and  where,  amid  revelry  and 
feasting  and  pageantry,  he  spent  the  Christmas  of  that  year. 
On  the  1 6th  of  February  following,  a  further  conference  took 
place  at  Ballygory,  between  Leighlinbridge  and  Carlow,  between 
Art  MacMurrogh  and  Mowbray,  Earl  of  Nottingham,  acting 
on  the  part  of  King  Richard.  Art,  mounted  on  a  black  steed, 
was  accompanied  by  O'Byrne,  O'Nolan,  Malachy  O'Murrogh, 
and  Rory  O'More,  who  came,  like  himself,  to  make  their 
submission.  And  Art,  taking  of(  his  girdle,  sword  and  cap, 
and  placing  his  hands  between  those  of  Nottingham,  who  gave 
him  the  kiss  of  peace  on  behalf  of  Richard  II.,  vowed  allegiance 
but  only  on  condition  that  his  wife's  lands  were  restored  to 
him,  that  his  annuity  was  regularly  paid,  and  that  for  the  lands 
he  surrendered  in  Carlow  other  lands  would  be  given  in  exchange. J 
Perhaps  Richard  II.  expected  that  the  various  chiefs  would 
flock  to  Dublin  to  tender  their  submission,  as  in  former  days 
their  ancestors  had  done  to  Henry  II.  They  made  no  sign 
in  this  direction,  but  a  message  came  from  the  northern  chiefs 
that  they  would  meet  him  at  Drogheda,  and  so  anxious  was 
Richard  to  facilitate  them  that  he  proceeded  there  and  received 
the  submission  of  O'Neill,  O'Donnell,  O'Reilly,  O'Hanlon  and 
MacMahon.  Those  chiefs  were  received  well  and  accompanied 
the    King   back    to    Dublin,     where     O'Brien,     O'Connor     and 

*  Cox  {Hibernia  Anglicana,  pp.  138-9),  says  these  terms  were  accepted 
by  Art  and  five  other  Leinster  chiefs,  but  this  is  inherently  improbable, 
for  Art  had  behind  him  20  years  of  successful  war,  the  other  chiefs  supported 
him,  and  in  the  Wicklow  mountains  he  could  defy  all  attack.  In  these 
circumstances  he  was  not  likely  to  surrender  everything  he  had,  and  get 
what  amounted  to  nothing  in  exchange. 

t  Four  Masters.  "  He  went  into  the  King's  house  at  the  solicitation 
of  the  Irish  and  English  of    Leinster." 

I  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  pp.  270-1.  These  terms,  it  will  be  seen,  are  very 
different  from  those  given  by  Cox. 


A   HEROIC   LEINSTER   CHIEF.  329 

MacMorrogh  awaited  them,  where  the  feastings  were  renewed 
and  where  these  Irish  chiefs,  not  without  reluctance,  consented 
to  receive  knighthood,  according  to  the  English  fashion.  Unlike 
the  courtiers  of  King  John  on  a  former  occasion,  the  ministers 
and  courtiers  of  King  Richard  showed  every  attention  to  the 
Irish  chiefs,  and  were  careful  not  to  ridicule  their  appearance 
or  habits.  The  four  principal  chiefs — O'Neill,  O'Brien  of 
Thomond,  MacMurrogh  and  O'Connor,  "  King  of  Connor  and 
Erpe  " — were  lodged  in  "  a  fair  house  "  in  Dublin,  and  a  certain 
Henry  Cristede,  an  Englishman,  was  appointed  their  attendant 
and  interpreter.*  He  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  Irish  thirty 
years  before,  he  had  lived  among  them  for  seven  years,  had 
married  an  Irish  wife,  and  one  of  his  daughters  had  married 
an  Irishman,  and  he  could  speak  the  Irish  language  well  and 
had  it  taught  to  his  children.f  He  was  more  than  usually 
garrulous  and  had  much  to  tell  his  friend,  Sir  John  Froissart, 
of  these  Irish  chiefs  and  of  his  own  troubles  with  them.  They 
would  sit  at  the  same  table  with  their  minstrels  and  servants, 
eat  out  of  the  same  dish  and  drink  out  of  the  same  cup  ;  they 
would  ride  without  saddles,  and  they  preferred  their  mantles 
to  wearing  a  silk  gown.  And  Cristede  told  his  friend  how  much 
he  prevailed  with  them.  He  put  the  four  kings  at  one  table, 
the  minstrels  at  a  lower  table  and  the  servants  at  a  lower  table 
still  ;  he  induced  them  to  ride  with  saddles  in  the  English  fashion, 
and  to  exchange  their  mantles  for  gowns  of  silk,  lined  with 
minever  and  gray,  and  he  got  breeches  of  linen  cloth  for  them 
instead  of  their  tight  fitting  trowse.J  In  the  midst  of  the  fetes 
and  pageantry  at  Dublin  news  came  from  England,  that  the 
Lollards  were  growing  troublesome,  that  the  country  was 
already  in  a  ferment ;  and  Richard  II.,  leaving  Roger  Mortimer, 
Viceroy,  in   July,   1395,    returned  to  England. 

The  new  Viceroy  was,  as  the  grandson  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
the  next  heir  to  the  throne  of  England,  and  if  he  was  merely 
an    Irish  chief,  he  might  also    claim  the  throne  of    Ireland,  for 


*  Froissart,  pp.  432-3. 

t  Cristede  was  a  soldier  with  the  Earl  of  Ormond  and  rode  one  of  his 
horses,  which  bolted  into  the  Irish  ranks.  An  Irishman  jumped  up  behind 
the  rider  and  brought  horse  and  man  to  a  town  called  Herpelipin,  and  this 
Irishman — by  name  Brin  Costeret — was  taken  prisoner,  seven  years  later, 
by  the  English,  and  riding  the  same  horse  which  Cristede  formerly  rode. 
In  the  meantime,  the  Englishman  had  married  Brin's  daughter,  and  when 
he  was  exchanged  for  his  father  in-law  and  went  to  live  at  Bristol,  he 
left  one  of  his  daughters  in  Ireland,  who  in  time  married  an  Irishman. 

+  Cristede's  opinion  of  the  Irish  was  not  high.  He  seems  to  have 
wondered  that  the  four  Kings  believed  in  God  and  the  Trinity  and  ac- 
knowledged the  supremacy  of  the  Pope.     (p.  433.) 


330  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

he  was   descended   from   her   ancient    kings.      By   his   descent 
from    the    Earl  of    Ulster    and    the  De  Genevilles    of    Meath, 
one  of   his   ancestors   was   Roderick  O'Connor,   the  last  Ardri, 
whose  daughter  had  married  Hugh  de  Lacy,  while  on  the  other 
hand  he  claimed    direct    descent  from  Eva,  wife  of  Srrongbow, 
and    daughter    of    Dermot    MacMurrogh.      Attachment    to    an 
ancient  name  has  always  been  a  strong   feature  of    the    Irish 
character,    but    Mortimer    was    England's   Viceroy,  acting    in 
England's    name    and  for  the   extension  of   her   power,  and  as 
such  could  not,  and  did  not,  receive  the  allegiance  of  the  Irish 
chiefs.       \  oung  and  inexperienced,  either  in  diplomacy  or  war,' 
he  had  to  rely  on  his  advisers  at  Dublin  ;  and  the  advice  they 
gave  him  was  to  get  Art  MacMurrogh  by   treachery  into  his 
power.*     He  was  invited  to  a  banquet  and  sought  to   be  kept, 
but  he  was  in  some  way  forewarned  and  managed  to  escape. f 
Such  treachery  as  this  roused  the  anger  of  Art  and  his    chiefs, 
and  a  desultory  war  was  carried  on  for  some  time,    in  which 
the  Irish  seemed  to  have  fared  better  than  their  foes,  for    the 
O'Tooles   defeated   the   English   (1396),^   with   the   loss   of    120, 
and  Art  himself  captured  the  castle  of  Carton  in   the    following 
year.      To   avenge   these   disasters,   as   well   as    to   signalise   his 
viceroyalty  by    some    notable    achievement,  Mortimer    collected 
all  his  forces  (1398),  and  marched  south    to  encounter  Art  and 
to  chastise  him.     The  opposing  forces    met  at  Kenlis,  or  Kells, 
in    Kilkenny,     and     Mortimer      was      defeated      and      slain.  || 
Concurrently    with     these    events      other    disasters    befell    the 
English.     Mageoghegan  of  Westmeath  killed  the  English   chief, 
Maurice  D'Alton  ;   the   Earl   of   Kildare  was   taken  prisoner  by 
O'Connor  of  Offaly  ;  and  the  Earl  of  Desmond  died.**   The  Irish 
were  everywhere  triumphant  and  elated,  the  English  dispirited, 
•English  power  seemed  tottering  to  its  fall,  and  the  danger  seemed 
imminent  that,  outside  of  Dublin  and  Waterford,    the  flag  of 
England   would   cease   to   float. 

When  news  of  these  disasters  arrived  from  Ireland,  Richard  IL 
was  involved  in  many  difificulties.  Harassed  by  turbulent  nobles 
and  ambitious  relatives,  he  had  for  the  moment  triumphed 
over  both,  and  in  revenge  had  embarked  on  a  policy  of  persecution 
and  proscription,  which  roused  the  ire  of   his  subjects,  and  finally 


*  Magee,  pp.  38-43. 

t  Four  Masters,    1395. 

X  Ibid. 

11  Ware's  Annals.  Magee  (pp.  47-48),  puts  Art  in  this  battle — the 
Annalists  do  not,  it  was  only  the  O' Byrnes  and  O'Tooles — but  Magee's 
reasons  are  strong. 

*  *  Magee,  p.  50. 


A   HEROIC  LEINSTER   CHIEF.  331 

lost  him  his  crown.*  Surrounded  by  so  many  difficulties, 
menaced  by  so  many  enemies,  he  could  ill  afford  to  leave  England 
and  proceed  to  Ireland  ;  but,  unmindful  of  former  failures,  he 
was  still  ambitious  of  military  renown,  and  desired  to  avenge 
the  death  of  Mortimer  and  humble  that  proud  Leinster  chief, 
whose  skill  and  daring  had  so  often  triumphed  over  English 
arms.  With  an  army  of  at  least  20,000  men,  he  sailed  from 
Milford  Haven  and  arrived  at  Waterford,  on  the  first  of  June, 
I399.t  As  on  a  former  occasion  he  marched  from  Waterford 
to  Kilkenny.  He  could  easily  have  crushed  Art  MacMurrogh, 
if  that  chief  had  met  him  in  the  open  field  and  risked  all  on  a 
single  battle,  for  the  weight  of  numbers  was  on  the  English 
side.  But  Art  was  too  experienced  to  risk  defeat,  and  fell  back, 
first  to  Carlow,  and  then  eastwards  to  Wicklow.  He  had  but 
3000  men,  though  they  were  stout  men,  such  as  the  Englishmen 
marvelled  to  behold.  His  usual  guerilla  tactics  were  pursued. 
The  women  and  children  he  sent  to  a  place  of  safety  in  the  hills 
or  woods,  while  his  army  harassed  the  advancing  English,  cut 
off  their  scouts  and  foragers,  made  night  attacks  on  their  camp, 
carried  off  all  provisions,  leaving  the  enemy  to  march  through 
a  district,  broken,  boggy  and  wooded,  where  they  could  get 
nothing  for  their  horses  but  a  little  green  oats,  and  where  their 
horses  sank  to  their  saddle-girths  in  the  marshes.  Their 
provisions  ran  short,  the  horses  died  of  hunger  and  exposure 
to  rain  and  wind,  a  biscuit  in  one  day  was  thought  a  good 
allowance  for  five  men  many  were  for  days  without  any  food 
at  all  ;  and  the  Frenchman,  who  wrote  the  narrative  of  the 
expedition  and  accompanied  the  army  heartily  wished  he  was 
back  again  in  Paris  even  without  one  penny  in  his  pocket.  Many 
died  from  sickness,  many  more  from  hunger;  mourning,  depression 
and  gloom  replaced  the  gaiety  of  their  first  march  from  Waterford 
to  Kilkenny  ;  the  minstrels  ceased  to  amuse  ;  and  if  they  played, 
their  notes  were  those  of  woe;  and  instead  of  a  conquering  army 
they  were  a  feeble,  famine-stricken  multitude,  hastening  to 
Dublin  to  get  food. 

At  Kilkenny  news  was  brought  that  a  Fremh  knight, 
D'Artois,  had  defeated  a  body  of  Irish  at  Kildare,  and  killed 
200  of  them,  and,  elated  by  this  victory,  Richard  sent  a  message 
to  Art  MacMurrogh  calling  on  him  to  submit  but  the  answer 
came  back,  that  he    (Art),  "  would    not    submit,   that  he  was 


*  Lingard,  Vol.  ill.,  p.    189. 

f  Harris's  Hibernica,  pp.  49-58.  The  narrative  of  the  expedition 
was  written  (in  French),  by  a  Frenchman  (Creton),  who  accompanied 
the  expedition.  It  was  translated  by  Lord  Totnes  into  English,  and  is 
the  second  of  the  Tracts  included  in  the  Hibernica. 


332  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND 

the  rightful  King  of  Leinster  and  would  never  cease  from  war 
and  the  defence  of  his  country  until  his  death,  and  that  the 
wish  to  deprive  him  of  it  by  conquest  was  unlawful."*  But  an 
uncle  of  Art — Malachy  MacMurrogh — came  to  the  English  camp, 
barefooted  and  bareheaded,  and  with  a  halter  tound  his  neck, 
and  in  this  humble  fashion  made  submission.  He  was  pardoned 
all  he  had  done  against  the  English  and  was  required  only  to 
be  faithful  for  the  time  to  come.j  Still  hoping  that  Art  would 
yield,  Richard  II.  sent  him  a  second  messenger,  promising  that 
if  he  would  come  and  submit  as  his  uncle  had  done,  he  would 
receive  mercy  and  pardon  and  be  endowed  with  castles  and 
lands.  But  Art's  answer  was  that  he  would  do  no  such  thing, 
that  for  all  the  gold  in  the  world  he  would  not  submit  but  would 
continue  to  war  upon  the  King  of  England.^  Decimated  by 
disease  and  hunger,  word  had  been  sent  to  Dublin  for  food  ; 
that  city  sent  supplies  by  sea  ;  and  the  army  hastened  eastwards 
to  Arklow,  where  the  ships  put  in,  laden  with  food.  And  the 
starving  soldiers  rushed  into  the  waves,  forcibly  seized  on  the 
provisions,  even  fought  amid  the  waves  for  a  morsel  of  bread, 
drank  all  the  wine  they  could  seize,  and  the  French  chronicler 
declared  that  he  saw  fully  a  thousand  drunk  on  the  wine  of 
Ossy  and  Spain. |! 

On  his  march  along  the  sea  coast  to  Dublin,  Richard  received 
a  message  from  Art  MacMurrogh,  asking  for  a  conference  with 
himself  or  someone  on  his  behalf ;  the  Earl  of  Gloucester  was 
chosen  and  met  Art  near,  or  in,  the  Vale  of  Ovoca.  Each  was 
accompanied  by  a  large  retinue,  but  they  held  their  conference 
apart  in  front  of  the  opposing  forces.  Art,  dressed  in  a  pink 
robe,  was  mounted  on  a  splendid  horse,  without  housing  or  saddle, 
and  his  horse  galloped  so  fast  to  the  place  of  meeting,  that  the 
French  historian  declares  that  he  never  saw  hare,  deer,  or  any 
other  animal  run  so  fast.  There  was  much  talk  between  Gloucester 
and  Art,  but  the  conference  ended  in  nothing,  for  Art  would 
make  no  terms  except  on  condition  that  his  person  and  possessions 
were  to  be  unmolested,  while  Richard  would  grant  no  such  terms, 
and  swore  that  he  would  never  leave  Ireland  until  he  had  Art 
in  his  power.  His  army  swelled  to  30,000  by  additions  from 
the  Anglo-Irish  lords,  Richard  soon  arrived  in  Dublin,  the 
provost  and  sheriffs  feasted  the  soldiers  sumptuously,  and  their 

*  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.   281. 

t  Hibernica,  p.   51. 

+  Ibid.,  p.  52.  "That  for  all  the  goold  in  the  world  he  would  not 
submit  himself,  but  would  continue  to  warr  and  endamage  the  King  in  all 
that  he  mought." 

II  The  names  of  the  places  passed  through  have  not  been  given  by  Cretonj 
but  the  route  has  been  traced,  I  think  accurately,  by  Magee.  (pp.  56-59). 


A   HEROIC   LEINSTER   CHIEF.  333 

late  ills  were  quickly  forgotten.  His  cousin,  the  Duke  of 
Albemarle,  also  arrived  from  England  with  large  supplies  of 
men  and  money,  and  Richard,  still  bent  on  capturing  Art  Mac 
Murrogh,  divided  his  army  into  three  divisions,  bade  them 
proceed  in  different  directions  in  quest  of  the  troublesome  chief 
and  offered  100  marks  for  whoever  should  bring  him  alive  or 
dead  into  his  power.  But  the  quest  was  fruitless  and  the  army 
returned  without  effecting  anything.  In  the  meantime  Richard 
indulged  in  feasts  and  revels  in  Dublin,  but  in  the  midst  of  all 
this  gaiety,  news  came  from  England  that  the  Duke  of  Lancaster 
had  raised  a  formidable  insurrection,  and  Richard  returned  to 
England  by  way  of  Waterford,  only  to  find  himself  deprived  of 
his  crown,  as  he  was  soon  afterwards  of  his  life.* 

The  change  of  dynasty  in  England  did  not  affect  Ireland 
much.  Unlike  his  predecessor^  Henry  IV.  did  not  try  conclusions 
with  Art  MacMurrogh,  nor  could  he,  for  he  had  more  than 
sufficient  to  occupy  him  at  home.  Glendower  had  risen  in  rebel- 
lion in  Wales,  the  Scotch  declared  war,  the  attitude  of  the  French 
king  was  one  of  irritation  and  menace,  some  French  nobles, 
led  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  fitted  out  several  vessels  and  made 
descents  on  the  south  coast  of  England,  the  religious  controversies 
of  the  Lollards  were  a  source  of  constant  ferment,  and  the 
formidable  revolt  of  the  Percies  in  the  north  all  but  succeeded 
in  the  defeat  of  Henry,  at  the  stubbornly  fought  battle  of 
Shrewsbury-!  Surrounded  by  so  many  dangers— all  his  efforts 
required  to  maintain  himself  on  the  throne  which  he  had  usurped 
— the  King  concerned  himself  little  with  Irish  affairs.  He 
appointed  his  son  Thomas,  Viceroy  (1401),  but  that  prince  was 
but  a  hoyl  and  the  duties  of  his  office  were  discharged  by  deputies  ; 
and  Scrope  and  Ormond  succeeded  each  other  in  that  office 
without  anything  of  note  occurring,  except  that  the  citizens  of 
Dublin  attacked  the  O'Byrnes  of  Wicklow  (1405),  and  killed  500 
of  them,  and  the  Prior  of  Conal  fell  upon  a  party  of  Irish  in 
Kildare  and  killed  200  of  them.|| 

Victorious  over  his  enemies,  holding  in  security  his  ancient 
possessions  and  recent  conquests,  supported  and  obeyed  by  the 
other  Leinster  chiefs,  Art  MacMurrogh  during  these  years 
remained  for  the  most  part  quiescent,  and  was  only  roused  to 
activity,  when  the  English  colonists  at  Wexford  became  restive. 
When  they  did,  he  quickly  reduced  them  to  obedience  and  seized 
or  burned  many  English  castles  in  Wexford,  Carlow  and  Kildare 


*  Hibernica,  pp.   53-54.     Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.   283-7. 

t  Lingard,  Vol.  III.,  pp.     201-14. 

X  He  was  only  in  his  twelfth  yean    (Gilbert's   Viceroys,  p.  204) 

II  Magee,  pp.  69-70. 


334  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

(1406).*  In  a  quarrel  between  the  Earls  of  Ormond  and  Desmond 
(1404),  he  fought  on  Desmond's  side,  though  it  was  strange 
he  was  never  able  to  crush  Ormond,  nor  capture  his  stronghold 
at  Kilkenny  ;  and  it  is  an  evidence  of  Ormond's  great  ability 
that  he  was  enabled  to  hold  his  own  among  hostile  and  powerful 
chiefs  and  preserved  his  capital  from  falling  into  their  hands. 
The  old  Earl  died  (1404),  the  deputy,  Scrope,  tried  to  reconcile 
the  new  Earl  and  the  Earl  of  Desmond  and  at  length  succeeded, 
and  with  these  two  a  strong  confederacy  was  formed  against 
MacMurrogh  of  which  Scrope  himself  was  the  leader  ;  other 
allies  were  the  Prior  of  Kilmainham  and  also  a  contingent  from 
the  citizens  of  Dublin.  With  such  an  army  Scrope  hoped  to 
succeed  where  Richard  II.  had  failed,  and  with  Desmond  and 
Ormond  he  marched  south  (1407)  towards  Carlow.  On  the  way 
he  encountered  Teige  O'Carroll,  who  was  proceeding  to 
MacMurrogh's  aid,  and  whom  he  defeated  with  heavy  loss, 
O'Carroll  himself  falling  in  the  battle. t  Six  miles  from  Callan, 
he  came  face  to  face  with  MacMurrogh  and  an  obstinate  battle 
was  fought.  The  advantage  was  with  the  Irish  in  the  early  part 
of  the  day,  but  the  tide  turned,  and  after  a  hard  fought  battle, 
Art  was  defeated  and  O'Nolan,  one  of  the  Leinster  chiefs,  was 
killed.  And  the  English  chronicler  asserts,  and  seems  to  believe, 
that  for  the  space  of  three  hours  the  sun  stood  still  in  the  heavens, 
so  that  the  English  would  have  light  to  finish  the  destruction 
of  their  foes.;]:  But  MacMurrogh  was  not  much  weakened  or 
dispirited  by  this  defeat.  Scrope  fell  back  to  Kilkenny  and  the 
next  year  died  of  the  plague  at  Castledermot  ;  Art  at  once  became 
active,  attacked  and  overran  the  English  possessions,  and  did 
not  cease  until,  at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  he  encamped  under 
the  walls  of  Dublin. |i 

The  Viceroy,  Thomas  of  Lancaster,  had  been  three  times  in 
Ireland,  previous  to  his  coming  over,  in  1408.  On  each  occasion 
he  was  friendly  with  the  Butlers,  but  for  some  reason  he  conceived 
an  antipathy  for  the  Earl  of  Kildare,  and  when  that  noble  was 
elected  Deputy  (1405),  in  place  of  Ormond,  who  had  died,  Prince 
Thomas  instantly  cancelled  his  appointment  and  appointed 
Scrope  in  his  place.**  On  his  fourth  coming  over  (1408),  Kildare 
went  to  meet  him  at  Carlingford  and  pay  him  his  respects,  as 
Viceroy  and  prince  of  the  blood,  but  his  reward  was  to  be  arrested 
and  cast  into  prison  out  of  which  he  had  to  be  ransomed  by  the 
payment  of   300   marks.       Besides   this   the   Viceroy  plundered 

*  Four  Masters. 

I  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise. 
\  Marlborough's  Chronicle. 

II  Four  Masters.     Magee,  p.  yj. 
**  Magee,  pp.  71-72. 


A   HEROIC  LEINSTER   CHIEF.  335 

Kildare's  castles  and  carried  away  his  plate  and  money.*  Enriched 
by  this  plunder  and  by  the  2000  marks,  which  he  had  given  him 
when  leaving  England,!  he  meditated  great  things  in  Ireland 
and  called  a  Council  at  Dublin  to  concert  measures  against  the 
Irish  chiefs  ;  and  by  the  aid  of  the  Anglo-Irish  nobles  and  the 
citizens  of  Dublin  he  had  soon  a  large  army  under  his  command. 
Nor  had  he  to  go  far  in  search  of  the  Irish  enemies,  for  it  was 
just  then  that  Art  MacMurrogh  with  all  his  forces  lay  encamped 
near  Dublin  and  it  may  be  assumed  that  he  had  with  him  the 
other  Leinster  chiefs — the  O'Byrnes,  O'Nolans  and  O'Tooles. 
To  these  may  be  added  O'Connor  of  Offaly,  who  had  often  fought 
the  English  and  whose  son  and  heir  had  been  killed  (1406),  while 
fighting  against  Birmingham. |  It  was  his  interest  as  well  as 
Art's  to  see  the  English  beaten,  nor  was  there  any  reason  for 
jealousy  between  these  two  chiefs.  The  Viceroy  had  mustered 
all  the  crown  tenants  of  Ireland  !|  so  that  the  fighting  forces  of 
the  Pale  were  ranged  under  his  command,  Jenico  d'Artois,  Butler, 
Prior  of  Kilmainham  and  the  rest.  The  English  marched  out 
from  the  city  and  the  battle  took  place  at  Kilmainham,  the 
result  being  that  they  were  defeated,  one  of  their  chiefs,  Hitsun 
Tuite,  killed  and  the  Duke  of  Lancaster  himself  dangerously 
wounded.  The  whole  of  the  ancient  Kingdom  of  Leinster,  up 
to  the  very  walls  of  Dublin,  was  now  in  Art  MacMurrough's 
hands,  and  the  condition  to  which  the  Viceroy  was  reduced  is 
described  by  one  of  his  courtiers,  who  wrote  on  his  behalf  to 
Henry  IV.  : — "  His  soldiers  have  deserted  him,  the  people  of  his 
household  are  on  the  point  of  leaving  him;  he  is  so  destitute  of 
money  that  he  hath  not  a  penny  nor  a  penny  can  he  get  credit 
for."  As  soon  as  he  was  better  of  his  wound,  Prince  Thomas 
returned  to  England,  appointed  the  Prior  of  Kilmainham  as  his 
Deputy,  and  did  not  again  come  to  Ireland.** 

Nor  was  this  the  only  disaster  that  overtook  the  English  at 
this  period  and  that  threatened  the  final  extinction  of  their 
power.  Allied  with  Mageoghegan  of  Westmeath,  O'Connor  of 
Offaly  captured  castles  and  towns  from  the  neighbouring  English 
(1408),  took  the  Sheriff  of  Meath  prisoner  (141 1),  and  gained 
the  victory  of  Killechin  (1414),  where  the  Baron  of  Skreen  and 
many  English  nobles  were  slain,  and  the  Baron's  son  and  many 
others  taken  prisoners,  for  whose  release  a  sum  of  1200  marks 
was  paid.fl 

*  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  p.  300.     His  crime  was  that  "  with  Adam  O'Nolan 
he  interfered  with  the  right  of  the  Crown  to  appoint  a  prebend  at  Maynooth.* 
t  Cox,  pp.   146-7. 
X  Four  Masters. 
II  Gilbert's    Viceroys. 
**  Magee,  pp.  77-80; 
tt  Four  Masters. 


3  36  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

The  Irish  soldiers  of  that  day  fought  well  in  the  open,  but 
they  had  not  learned  to  capture  fortified  towns,  and  after  the 
battle  of  Kilmainham  Art  MacMurrogh  made  no  attempt  to 
capture  Dublin.  It  was  well  fortified,  perhaps  impossible  to 
take  from  the  land  side,  nor  could  the  inhabitants  be  starved 
out,  for  the  sea  was  open  to  them  and  the  Irish  had  no  vessels 
to  blockade  it  :  and  when  Art  MacMurrogh  had  buried  his  dead 
and  attended  to  the  wounded  he  retired  to  his  headquarters  at 
New  Ross.  Two  years  later  the  O'Farrells  were  defeated  by 
the  Deputy  and  the  O' Byrnes  defeated  the  Prior  of  Kilmainham 
and  the  citizens  of  Dublin  in  141 3.*  In  this  latter  year,  the 
Prior  of  Kilmainham  and  1600  men  went  to  France,  to  assist 
Henry  V.  in  his  wars,  and  the  new  Lord  Deputy — Stanley — 
while  making  no  war  on  MacMurrogh  and  O'Connor,  persecuted 
and  plundered  clergy  and  laity  and  subjected  many  of  them  to 
"  cold,  hardship  and  famine."  For  all  his  cruelties,  especially 
towards  the  poets,  he  was  satirized  by  the  poet  O'Higgins,  and 
it  is  gravely  recorded  that  he  lived  after  this  but  five  weeks  "  for 
he  died  (141 4)  of  the  virulence  of  the  lampoons. "f  After  Stanley 
came  Cranley,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  and  then  a  really  able 
man  was  appointed  Viceroy — Sir  John  Talbot — Lord  Furnival.J 
But,  perhaps  for  want  of  men  and  money,  he  formed  no  great 
plans  and  embarked  on  no  great  war,  nor  was  his  term  of  office 
remarkable  for  anything  except  that  he  robbed  and  plundered 
indiscriminately,  English  ||  and  Irish  alike,  and  every  year  he 
made  a  circuit  through  Meath  and  Louth,  took  all  he  could  lay 
hands  on  ;  and  when  he  returned  to  England  he  carried  with  him 
"  the  curses  of  many,  because  he,  being  run  in  debt  for  victuals 
and  divers  other  things,  would  pay  little  or  nothing  at  all."** 

Except  for  some  small  war  with  the  English  of  Wexford, 
whom  he  quickly  subdued,  the  closing  years  of  Art  MacMurrogh 
were  spent  in  peace.  In  one  of  these  battles  his  son  defeated  the 
Wexfordmen  (1416),  with  the  loss  of  340  killed  or  wounded,  or 
prisoners.  The  next  year,  after  being  42  years  the  head  of 
the  Leinster  clans.  Art  himself  died,tt  the  ablest,  the  most  skilful, 
the  most  successful  chief  whom  Ireland  had  sent  to  combat  the 
English,  since  Strongbow  first  landed  on  her  soil. 

*  Four  Masters. 
t  ibid. 

X  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  p.  304.      He  came  over  in  1414,  being  appointed 
Viceroy  for  6  years  at  an  annual  allowance  of  ;f 2,666  13s.  4d3 
II  Only  the  "  degenerate  "  English: 
**  Marlborough  s  Chronicle  at  1419.- 
It  Four  Masters.     There    was    a    suspicion    that    he    was    poisoned. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

Decay    of    English    Power. 

Disturbed  state  of  Ireland  in  the  fifteenth  century — The  Leinster  chiefs — 
Weakened  condition  of  the  Pale — The  Talbots  and  Butlers  — The 
Viceroys  and  the  native  chiefs — Payments  of  Black  rent — Ormond 
and  Desmond  quarrel — Talbot  appointed  Viceroy — The  Duke  of 
York  succeeds  him — His  relations  with  the  Irish — Returned  to  England 
— Wars  of  the  Roses — Triumph  of  the  Yorkists — The  Earl  of  Ormond 
executed  —  The  Butlers  and  Fitzgeralds  at  war — Viceroyalty  of 
Tiptoft — Execution  of  Desmond — Revolt  of  Garret  Fitzgerald — Earl 
of  Kildare  Viceroy — The  Pale — Its  limits — Surrounded  by  a  dyke — 
Poverty  and  impotence  of  the  executive  at  Dublin — Lord  Grey 
and  Kildare — Folly  of  the  Irish  chiefs — State  of  Connaught — and 
of  Thomond — O'Brien  captures  Limerick — Dissensions  in  Ulster — 
Opportunity  of  the  natives  to  expel  the  English   allowed  to  pass. 

The  years  that  followed  the  death  of  Art  MacMurrogh,  it  might 
be  said  the  whole  fifteenth  century,  were  years  of  strife  and 
discord,  rivalling  the  most  disturbed  period  of  Irish  history. 
There  was  war  everywhere,  north  and  south  and  west,  and  on  the 
borders  of  the  Pale  and  within  it,  wars  between  rival  candidates 
for  the  chieftaincy  of  their  clans,  wars  between  neighbouring  chiefs 
and  combinations  of  these,  wars  between  the  Anglo-Irish  lords 
themselves,  wars  of  aggression  and  of  spoliation,  wars  of  retaliation 
and  revenge.  But  in  all  these  wars  we  would  seek  in  vain 
for  any  national  or  patriotic  object,  any  unity  of  purpose  or 
design.  Nor  among  the  various  leaders,  whose  mischievous 
activity  caused  so  much  blood  to  flow,  was  there  even  one  whose 
talents  lifted  him  above  his  contemporaries,  who  was  capable 
of  rising  superior  to  his  surroundings,  of  looking  beyond  the 
narrow  limits  of  his  clan,  and  of  making  an  effort  to  rescue, 
not  only  his  clan,  but  his  country,  from  the  ruin  into  which 
she  was  being  hurried  by  the  shortsightedness  and  folly  of  her 
sons.  Peace  and  order  and  settled  government  were  unknown, 
law  was  known  but  only  to  be  despised,  for  it  was  the  law  of 
the  stronger,  and  that  only,  which  prevailed. 

During  the  closing  years  of   his  life,  Art  MacMurrogh  showed 
no  eagerness  for  war,  and  never  once  did  he    measure  swords 

z 


338  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

with  the  Viceroy,  Talbot,  not  even  when  that  renowned  soldier 
defeated  O'More  of  Leix  (141 5),  burned  and  destroyed  the  corn 
of  the  district,  wounded  and  killed  numbers  of  the  people  and 
broke  down  two  strong  castles.*  Perhaps  the  Leinster  king 
waited  for  a  more  favourable  opportunity  to  attack  the  Pale, 
when  its  resources  would  be  more  exhausted^  or  at  least  be 
controlled  by  someone  less  capable  than  Talbot  was.  But  his 
son  and  successor,  Donogh,  was  not  equally  prudent,  and,  with 
O'Connor  of  Offaly,  he  was  at  war  with  the  English  (141 9), 
and  advanced  as  far  as  Dublin,  where  he  was  defeated  and  taken 
prisoner.  His  ally,  O'Connor,  was  taken  prisoner,  at  the  same 
time,  but  managed  to  escape,  while  Donogh  was  taken  to  England 
and  lodged  in  the  Tower  of  London,  where  he  was  kept  a  prisoner 
for  nine  years .|  Nor  was  he  then  liberated  but  for  a  heavy 
ransom,  which  was  cheerfully  paid  by  his  own  clansmen. J 
During  these  years,  a  kinsman,  Gerald  Kavanagh,  was 
acknowledged  head  of  the  MacMurroghs,  but  when  Donogh 
was  set  free  his  kinsman  made  way  for  him,  and  he  stepped  into 
the  place  his  father  had  filled  with  so  much  honour.  The 
recollection  of  his  imprisonment  embittered  him  against  the 
English,  and  only  a  short  time  passed  until  he  was  again  at 
war  with  them,  though  his  success  was  not  remarkable,  for 
while  he  won  one  battle  against  them  (143 1),  he  lost  a  second, 
both  battles  being  fought  near  Dublin.  In  the  last  battle  his 
ally,  O'Toole,  was  taken  prisoner.il  But  Donogh  was  persevering, 
and  the  next  year  he  again  attacked  the  English  and  defeated 
them  with  the  loss  of  their  leader,  Tobin.  At  a  later  date  (1443), 
he  chastised  the  English  of  Wexford,  who  had  defeated  and 
killed  his  relative,  Murtogh  Kavanagh,  and  he  compelled  them 
to  pay  a  fine  of  800  marks  as  compensation  for  Murtogh's  death.*  * 
The  next  year  some  of  his  kinsmen  rose  in  rebellion  against 
him,  and  were  aided  by  the  O'Byrnes  and  O'Tooles.  In  the 
war  that  followed,  Donogh  was  able  to  hold  his  own  by  the 
aid  of  O'Connor  of  Offaly,  but  a  little  later  the  quarrel  was 
renewed,  and  Donogh  was  defeated  and  slain. ff  His  successor 
was  his  cousin,  Donal  Reveagh,  who  occupied  the  position  until 
1476.  He  must  have  been  a  man  of  vigour  and  capacity  to 
maintain  his  position  so  long,  but  his  resources  were  employed 
in  keeping   his   neighbours — English   and    Irish — in   subjection, 

*  Gilbert's   Viceroys,  pp.  304-5. 

t  Ibid.,  p.   311.      Magee's  Ari  MacMurrogh,  p.   104. 
%  Four   Masters,   1428. 
II  Ibid. 

*  *  Ibid. 

•j-f  Annals  of  MacFirbis  (quoted  by  O'Donovan).  Magee,    105.     It  is 
Magee  who  adds  that  Donogh  was  slain,  I  know  not  on  what  authority. 


DECAY   OF   ENGLISH   POWER.  339 

and  while  the  rulers  of  the  Pale  made  no  attempt  to  conquer  him, 
neither  did  he  make  any  attempt  to  gather  together  the  strength 
of  Leinster  and  inflict  upon  them  a  crushing  blow,  as  in  similar 
circumstances  Art  MacMurrogh  might  have  done. 

The  defeat  and  imprisonment  of  Donal  Kavanagh  MacMurrogh, 
the  troubles  of  a  disputed  succession,  and  the  weakness  which 
these  troubles  caused,  were  all  favourable  circumstances  for 
the  subjugation  of  Leinster  to  English  rule.  And  if  the  Pale 
had  been  prosperous  and  its  forces  united,  such  a  leader  as  Talbot 
might  piobably  have  inteifered  in  the  MacMurrogh  quarrels, 
and  with  disastrous  effect  on  them.  But  the  Pale  was  weak, 
its  people  were  poor,  harassed  by  inroads  from  the  neighbouring 
chiefs,  taxed  beyond  their  strength,  subjected  to  coyne  and 
livery,  even  by  the  Viceroys  ;  no  help  came  from  England,  for 
all  its  resources  were  required  in  the  wars  with  France  ;  Talbot 
was  sent  to  these  same  French  wars,  and  his  successors  had  not 
his  ability ;  and  to  make  matters  worse,  there  was  discord 
among  the  English  of  the  Pale.  Sir  John  Talbot's  brother 
was  Archbishop  of  Dublin,*  and  he  was  no  friend  of  Ormond, 
the  strongest  supporter  in  Ireland  of  the  House  of  Lancaster. 
Between  these  two  men  there  was  never  any  cordiality,  they 
seldom  or  never  co-operated  in  any  public  object,  more  usually 
they  disagreed  and  thwarted  and  obstructed  one  another,  and 
there  were  charges  and  countercharges  between  them,  and 
appeals  to  England.  Each  had  influence  with  the  King, 
and  according  as  that  influence  failed  or  was  successful,  their 
power  in  Ireland  rose  or  fell.  Sometimes  the  Archbishop  was 
Lord  Deputy  or  Viceroy,  sometimes  it  was  Ormond,  but  each, 
during  his  period  of  office,  used  the  powers  of  which  he  was 
master,  not  so  much  to  advance  English  interests,  as  to  elevate 
his  own  faction  and  to  humiliate  his  rival.  Within  twenty-five 
years  (1422-47),  Ormond  was  the  head  of  the  Irish  Government, 
either  as  Viceroy  or  Deputy,  no  less  than  five  times,  and  the 
Archbishop  was  six  times,t  as  well  as  being  for  a  time  (1423-6) 
Lord  Chancellor.  During  that  time  the  quarrels  between  these 
two  powerful  men  continued,  and  twice  these  quarrels  assumed 
such  dangerous  proportions,  that  King  Henry  VI.  had  to 
personally  intervene  and  command  them  to  live  at  peace. J  It 
was  divided  counsels  and  chieftains'  jealousies  which  made  the 
Irish  always  so  weak,  so  incapable,  either  to  resist  or  attack  their 
foes.      Similar  causes  produced  similar  effects  among  the  English  ; 


*  He  was  Archbishop  of  Dublin  from  14 17  to  1449.     (Ware's  Bishops.) 
t  Ormond's  terms  of  office  were,  1422-24-26-40-43.     Talbot's  terms  of 
office   were,    1423-27-30-36-45-47.     (Harris's   Ware,   Vol.   II.,   p.    107.) 
X  Gilbert's    Viceroys,   pp.    316  17,    328,    337-42. 


340  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

the  Pale  was  undefended,  its  inhabitants  were  at  the  mercy 
of  the  Irish  chiefs  ;  and  nothing  could  purchase  their  security 
except  to  buy  ofi  the  hostility  of  these  chiefs.  The  English 
ofTficials  were  grasping  and  mercenary,  little  troubled  about 
advancing  the  King's  interests  and  eager  to  enrich  themselves, 
they  levied  heavy  burdens  on  the  English  Colonists,  and  seldom 
paid  for  anything  they  got.*  Reduced  to  poverty  and  impotence, 
the  chief  men  of  the  Pale  had  already  addressed  a  memorial 
to  Henry  V.,  begging  that  he  would  come  to  their  relief  as 
they  were  surrounded  by  Irish  enemies  and  English  rebels, 
and  as  this  petition  was  unheeded,  they  addressed  a  further 
one  to  the  same  quarter,  a  few  years  later  (1420),  begging  Henry 
to  place  their  condition  before  the  Pope,  so  that  he  might  preach 
a  new  crusade  against  the  Irish,  for  apparently  they  believed, 
or  at  least  wished  the  Pope  to  believe,  that  the  Irish  were  no 
better  than  the  heathens,  and  might  be  regarded  as  the  enemies 
of  God  and    His  Church .f 

The  war  during  these  years  between  the  English  and  the  Irish 
was  desultory  and  unimportant,  and  led  to  no  result  except 
this — that  the  English  still  further  lost,  as  the  Irish  still  further 
gained,  ground.  During  his  first  Viceroyalty  (1418),  Sir  John 
Talbot  marched  against  an  Irish  chief — Magennis  of  Iveagh, 
in  Down,  and,  having  defeated  him  in  battle,  carried  off  a  great 
part  of  his  people's  cattle,  but  Magennis  obtained  reinforcements, 
pursued  the  Viceroy  laden  with  his  spoil,  defeated  him  with 
the  loss  of  many  English,  and  recovered  the  greater  part  of  his 
cattle.J  Two  years  later,  the  Earl  of  Ormond  joined  with 
O'Neill  of  Tirowen,  and  both  attacked  and  defeated  Magennis, 
though  the  victory  brought  no  advantage  to  the  English  interest, 
for  its  purpose  and  effect  were  to  compel  Magennis  to  submit 
to  O'Neill. II  The  unusual  spectacle  of  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell 
combining  their  strength  was  witnessed  in  1423,  for,  in  that 
year,  aided  by  the  other  Ulster  chiefs,  they  marched  against 
Dundalk,  compelled  the  English  colony  there  to  pay  tribute 
encountered  the  English  forces  near  that  town  under  the 
command  of  the  Lord  Deputy,  defeated  them  with  the  loss 
of  one  hundred  men,  and,  besides  obtaining  great  spoils  from 
them,  compelled  the  English  in  Louth  and  Meath  to  pay  Black 
Rent,  and  only  on  this  condition  would  they  make  peace.** 
With    large    reinforcements    from    England,    Ormond    marched 

*  Gilbert's   Viceroys,  pp.   313-14. 
t  3td-  pp.  314-15. 
X  Four  Masters. 

II  Ibid.  This  Earl  of  Ormond,  and  O'Neill,  were  married  to  two  sisters, 
daughters  of  Donal  MacMurrogh,  King  of  Leinster.     (Magee,  p.  105.) 
**  Four  Masters. 


DECAY   OF   ENGLISH  POWER.  34 1 

north,  in  the  following  year,  and  to  some  extent  retrieved 
Mortimer's  defeat,  for  he  did  much  damage  to  the  Irish  and 
attacked  and  drove  from  his  territory  Magennis  of  Iveagh. 
These  triumphs  of  the  English  were  not  destined  to  be  lasting 
in  their  results,  as  O'Neill  attacked  Dundalk  (1430),  and  again 
compelled  that  town  as  well  as  the  whole  of  Meath  to  pay  him 
tribute.*  A  little  later,  in  some  obscure  expedition,  the  English 
captured  O'Donnell  of  Tirconnell  and  kept  him  imprisoned, 
in  revenge  for  which  they  were  attacked  by  his  relative,  O'Connor 
of  Offaly  (1436),  during  which  war  he  did  them  much  damage 
"  by  burning,  plundering  and  slaying  ";  f  while  later  still  (1442), 
the  English  made  their  way  into  Wicklow  and  defeated  the 
O' Byrnes  and  O'Tooles,  only  in  turn  to  be  attacked  by  these 
warlike  clans  and  defeated  with  the  loss  of  eighty  men,  and  the 
capturing  of  all  the  booty  they  were  carrying  away.  Amid 
these  little  wars,  where  success  and  failure  constantly  fluctuated, 
the  Pale  was  becoming  less  and  less  in  extent,  until  scarce  any 
part  was  left,  except  the  County  of  Dublin,  where  the  King's 
power  was  unquestioned  and  supreme.  English  there  were 
elsewhere,  but  they  had  to  purchase  peace  by  the  payment 
of  Black  Rent,  and  to  such  poverty  was  the  Irish  Government 
reduced  that  when  the  hall  and  windows  of  Dublin  Castle 
required  to  be  repaired  it  was  necessary  to  break  up  and  sell  an 
old  unused  royal  seal  ^  (1427);  nor  was  the  public  revenue 
sufficient  to  carry  on  the  government,  for  the  expenses  of 
the  Viceroy  and  his  ofificers  exceeded  the  yearly  revenue  by 
the  amount  of  ^^1,456.  || 

In  the  diputes  between  the  Talbots  and  Butlers  neither 
the  Earl  of  Desmond  nor  the  Earl  of  Kildare  had  hitherto  mixed. 
The  Geraldines  and  the  Butlers  were  rarely  on  the  friendliest 
terms,  but  to  further  his  own  ends  Desmond  united  with  Butler 
(1443),  in  some  quarrel  against  the  Talbot  faction.  Ormond 
was  then  Viceroy,  with  all  the  power  and  influence  that 
ofifice  gave.  He  was  grateful  for  the  timely  assistance  of  Desmond, 
and  to  express  his  gratitude  he  obtained  for  him  a  royal  licence 
to  purchase  whatever  lands  he  pleased,  no  matter  by  what 
service  they  were  held  from  the  King,  and  at  the  same  time 
he  was  constituted  by  Letters  Patent,  governor  of  the  counties 
of  Watertord,  Cork,  Limerick  and  Kerry,  and,  in  addition, 
was  excused  from  attendance  in  parliament.**  Such  privileges 
increased  Desmond's  power  enormously,  but  neither  his  loyalty 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  Ibid. 

%  Leland,  Vol.  II.,  p.  22. 

II  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.   342. 

** Leland,   Vol.  II.,  p.  25. 


342  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

to  the  Lancastrian  dynasty  nor  his  affection  for  the  Butlers 
grew,  and,  forgetful  of  the  favours  he  had  received,  and  confident 
in  his  own  resources  and  strength,  on  some  pretext  he  actually 
went  to  war  with  Ormond  in  the  next  year,  nor  was  Ormond 
with  all  the  forces  which  a  Viceroy  could  command  able  to 
conquer  the  haughty  Geraldine.*  His  enemies  at  Dublin 
were  not  slow  to  make  the  most  of  his  failure,  and  the  shower 
of  accusations  against  him  fell  thick  and  fast.  The  King  was 
told  that  he  was  inactive  and  infirm  from  age,  that  he  wanted 
the  capacity  to  enlarge  the  Pale  or  even  to  defend  it  against 
attack,  that  he  was  grasping,  avaricious  and  corrupt,  and  had 
used  his  high  office  of  Viceroy  for  the  advancement  of  his  friends 
and  the  enrichment  of  himself.  Strong  in  his  attachment  to 
Ormond,  the  King  refused  to  listen  to  these  accusations,  or 
at  least  to  believe  them,  but  Ormond's  enemies  were  numerous 
and  persistent ;  the  charges  were  often  repeated  and  in  various 
forms;  and  at  length,  he  was  removed  from  his  position  (1446), 
and  Sir  John  Talbot,  now  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  was  sent  over 
as  Viceroy  and  given  a  force  of  700  men  to  assist  in  subduing 
rebellion,  and  reasserting  the  weakened  authority  of  England, 
both  within  and  without  the  Pale.|  Yet  he  accomplished 
little,  and  except  that  he  reduced  the  refractory  subjects  of 
the  King  within  the  Pale  and  inflicted  defeat  on  O'Connor  of 
Ofia\y,'l  he  could  not  be  credited  with  having  done  anything 
else  during  this,  his  last  viceroyalty.  But  from  so  famous  a 
man,  who  had  earned  so  great  a  name  in  the  French  wars,|| 
the  Palesmen  expected  much,  and  during  his  tenure  of  office 
they  assumed  their  old  airs  of  superiority  over  the  native  Irish, 
looked  down  upon  them  with  contempt  as  an  inferior  and  subject 
race,  loudly  demanded  the  enactment  of  repressive  laws  against 
them,  and,  at  a  parliament  in  Trim  (1447),  it  was  enacted  that 
Irish  customs  were  illegal  and  penal,  and  that  whoever  did 
not  shave  his  upper  lip**  was  to  be  regarded  as  an  Irish 
enemy. 

Talbot's  successor  was  Richard,  Duke  of  York.      Descended 


*  Annals  of  MacFirbis. 

t  Cox,  Hibernia  Anglicana,  p.    159.     Leland,  Vol.  II.,  p.  27. 

+  Four  Masters. 

II  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  p.  350.  Such  was  the  terror  he  inspired  in  France 
that  French  mothers  quietened  their  chidren  by  telling  them  that  Talbot 
was  coming.     He  was  killed  at  Chatillon  in   1453. 

**  Cox,  pp.  159-60.  "  Everyman  must  keep  his  upper  lip  shaved  or 
else  may  be  used  as  an  Irish  enemy  :  "  which  meant  that  he  might  even 
be  put  to  death,  for  the  law  did  not  recognise  the  existence  of  a  "  mere 
Irishman,"  except  to  exterminate  him.  This  enactment  made  it  criminal 
even   to  look  like  an  Irishman,  as  the  Irish  did  not  shave  their  upper  lips. 


DECAY   OF   ENGLISH- POWER.  343 

from  the  third  son  of  Edward  III.,*  his  title  to  the  English 
throne  was  superior  to  that  of  the  princes  of  the  Lancastrian 
line.  But  it  was  not  the  superior  claims  of  descent  that  placed 
Henry  IV.  on  the  throne  ;  by  force  he  won  it ;  and  by  force 
he  retained  it ;  and  in  the  case  of  his  son,  Henry  V.,  the  defective 
title  by  which  his  father  or  himself  held  the  throne  was  forgotten 
amid  the  splendours  of  Agincourt.  With  his  death  there  came 
a  change.  The  disasters  of  the  next  reign,  the  loss  of  France, 
the  incapacity  of  the  King  himself  revived  the  memory  of  his 
defective  claims  of  descent ;  and  there  were  many  who  turned 
from  Henry  VI.  to  the  Duke  of  York,  and  recollected  that  his 
house  had  superior  claims  as  coming  from  an  elder  branch  ; 
and  contrasted  what  England  might  be  under  an  able  and 
energetic  prince,  such  as  York  was,  to  what  she  was  under 
the  discredited  rule  of  an  imbecile  king.  York  had  been  regent 
of  France,  but  the  Lancastrian  party  grew  jealous  of  his  power, 
and  relegated  him  to  the  lesser  position  of  Viceroy  of  Ireland. 
To  lessen  the  humiliation  of  his  change  from  a  greater  to  a 
more  obscure  office,  he  was  armed  with  the  full  powers  of 
royalty,  was  granted  the  whole  revenue  of  Ireland  for  ten  years, 
got  in  addition  from  the  English  Treasury  4,000  marks  for 
the  first  year  and  ;t2,ooo  for  each  succeeding  year  of  his  ofifice  ; 
he  could  also  farm  the  King's  private  lands,  displace  all  ofificers, 
levy  what  troops  he  wanted,  appoint  his  own  Deputy,  and 
return  to  England  as  often  as  he  pleased. t  His  policy  in  Ireland 
was  to  win  over  by  kindness  the  native  chiefs,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  reconcile  the  Anglo-Irish  lords.  An  Ireland  peaceful 
and  contented,  no  longer  harassed  by  war  or  weakened  by 
contention,  would  redound  to  his  credit  in  England,  and  in 
the  struggle  which  he  foresaw  to  be  impending  might  attract 
the  support  of  many,  for  it  would  be  said  that  he  who  had 
established  peace  and  unity  in  Ireland  was  well  worthy  to  be 
king.  Nor  would  kindness  shown  to  the  Irish  be  wasted. 
They  responded  quickly  to  such  treatment ;  what  they  rarely 
experienced  they  appreciated  all  the  more  when  they  received 
it ;  and  so  rapid  and  striking  was  the  effect  of  the  new  policy, 
that  within  a  month  ot  his  coming  to  Ireland  he  had  obtained 
the  support  of  Magennis  of  Iveagh  with  600  horse  and  foot, 
of  MacMahon  with  800,  of  MacCarten  with  a  similar  number, 
and  of  the  O'Reillys  with  700  men.  The  O'Byrnes  of  Wicklow 
who  refused  to  be  reconciled  he  marched  against  and  defeated 
and  compelled  them  to  pay  tribute,  to  accept  English  law  in 
their  territory,  to  wear  English  dress  and  to    learn  the  English 

*  The  Duke  of  Clarence  and   Elizabeth  de  Burgho,  daughter  of  the 
Earl  of   Ulster.     (Hume's  History  of  England.     Genealogical  Table   H.) 
t  Cox,  pp.    160-1.     He  landed  in  Ireland,    July,   1449. 


344  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

tongue.  The  Anglo-Irish  chiefs  did  him  homage — Ormond 
and  Desmond  and  Roche  and  Barret  and  Cogan — and  from  the 
Irish  chiefs,  O'Neill,  O'Farrell,  MacGeoghegan  and  others  as 
many  beeves  were  sent  to  his  kitchen  as  he  required  ;  and  it 
began  to  be  said  in  England  that  before  twelve  months  the  wildest 
Irishman    in    Ireland    would    be    sworn    English.* 

In  pursuance  of  his  peacemaking  policy  he  had  the  Earls 
of  Desmond  and  Ormond  stand  sponsors  for  his  infant  son, 
George,  afterwards  the  ill-fated  Duke  of  Clarence,  and  thus 
he  purchased  the  good  will  of  the  native  Irish  by  reviving  the 
old  institution  of  gossipred,  while  he  brought  Desmond  and 
Ormond  together  and  succeeded,  as  he  hoped,  in  having  them 
lay  aside  their  ancient  enmity,  and  shaking  hands  in  friendship 
and  reconciliation  at  the  baptismal  font.  Within  the  Pale 
he  found  that  the  chiefs,  though  English  subjects,  were 
constantly  violating  the  Statute  of  Kilkenny  by  coyne  and 
livery,  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of  keeping  more  horsemen 
and  footmen  than  they  wanted  for  their  personal  defence,  and 
that,  accompanied  by  these,  they  went  with  their  wives  and 
families  to  the  houses  of  their  tenants,  where  they  feasted  at 
the  tenants'  expense,  destroyed  the  corn  and  meadows,  took 
what  they  pleased,  paid  for  nothing,  and  sometimes  killed  the 
tenant  who  objected  to  these  exactions.  Summoning  a 
parliament  at  Dublin  (October,  1450),  these  abuses  were  declared 
illegal  by  statute,  and  such  enactment  was  good  ;  but  it  was 
otherwise  with  another,  made  by  the  same  parliament,  which 
declared  it  lawful,  and  even  meritorious,  to  kill  the  robbers 
with  whom  the  Pale  was  infested,  for  one  who  was  a  robber 
and  evil-doer  himself,  could  murder  even  the  well-disposed, 
and  plead  that  it  was  an  Irish  robber  whom  he  had  killed.f  But 
though  York  accomplished  much  in  a  short  time,  there  was 
much  still  to  be  done.  A  petition  from  the  English  subjects 
of  Cork,  Youghal  and  Kinsale  to  the  Duke  declared,  that  the 
Anglo-Irish  chiefs  in  these  districts  were  fighting  among  them- 
selves, and  by  the  aid  of  the  Irish,  and  that  they  had  so  weakened 
one  another,  that  the  Irish  had  got  back  much  of  the  English 
lands.  The  state  of  Waterford  and  Wexford  was  found  to  be 
similar  ;  |  and  Mageoghegan  of  Westmeath  entered  the  Duke 
of  York's  own  lands  in  Meath  and  ravaged  them,  and  such  was 
the   strength   of   his     followers     that   York    who     marched     to 

*  Gilbert's    Viceroys,   pp.   353-4. 

t  Cox,  p.  161.  That  the  murdered  man  was  a  peaceably  disposed 
Irishman  made  no  difference  :  the  murderer  could  plead  he  was  Irish, 
and  he  was  held  blameless,  and  he  could  add  that  he  mistook  him  for  a 
robber,  though  he  knew  well  he  was  not. 

J  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.  357-8. 


DECAY   OF   ENGLISH   POWER.  345 

Mullingar  was  unable  to  make  headway  against  him,  and  from 
necessity  had  to  make  terms  with  him  and  forgive  him  any 
injuries  he  had  done.*  The  result  of  his  own  weakness  was 
attributed  to  want  of  money,  and  in  sending  a  messenger  to 
England,  complaining  that  his  stipulated  allowance  was  not 
paid  by  the  English  Treasurer,  he  declared  he  could  not  hold 
the  country  for  the  King  without  money  from  England,  and 
that  if  such  money  were  not  soon  sent  him,  he  would  be  compelled 
to  leave  Ireland  and  to  live  in  England  upon  his  poor  livelihood, 
*'  for  I  had  lever  (he  said)  be  dead  than  any  inconvenience  should 
fall  thereunto  in  my  default,  for  it  shall  never  be  chronicled 
nor  remain  in  scripture,  by  the  grace  of  God,  that  Ireland  was 
lost  by  my  negligence."  f  The  Duke  did  return  to  England 
(145 1),  leaving  as  his  deputy,  Sir  James  Butler,  a  son  of  the 
Earl  of  Ormond,  and  recently  created  Earl  of  Wiltshire.  The 
old  Earl  of  Ormond  still  lived,  and  the  native  Annals  go  to 
show  that  though  he  was  old  he  was  not  inactive.  He  took 
O'Dempsey's  castle  at  Leix,  liberated  Birmingham  who  had 
been  detained  in  prison,  marched  as  a  conqueror  through 
Offaly  and  Annally,  compelled  the  O'Reillys  of  Cavan  and  the 
MacMahons  of  Louth  to  tender  him  submission,  and  advanced 
into  Tirowen  and  compelled  O'Neill  to  take  back  his  wife,  whom 
he  had  put  away,  and  when  he  had  done  all  this  he  went  back 
to  Ardee,  where  in  that  same  year  (1452),  he  died. J 

The  son  and  successor  of  Ormond,  already  Lord  Deputy, 
was  appointed  (1453)  Viceroy  for  ten  years,  but  he  concerned 
himself  little  about  Ireland  and  acted  only  for  a  short  time  and 
then  through  his  deputy.  May,  Archbishop  of  Armagh.  As 
Earl  of  Wiltshire  he  was  an  English  nobleman  and  became  Lord 
High  Treasurer  of  England,  had  vast  estates  in  England,  was 
allied  by  marriage  with  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  and  had  greater 
anxiety  to  support  the  claims  and  watch  over  the  interests  of 
the  Lancastrians  in  England  than  to  concern  himself  with  the 
petty  details  of  Irish  government.  |i  In  the  following  year  the 
Duke  of  York  again  became  Viceroy,  but  he,  too,  ruled  by  deputy, 
the  Earl  of  Kildare  being  appointed  to  that  office.**  Like  Ormond, 
his  interests  were  greatest  in  England,  for  the  struggle  between 
the  White  Rose  of  York  and  the  Red  Rose  of  Lancaster  had 
begun.  The  Duke  was  the  head  and  champion  of  the  former, 
and  at  the  battle  of  St.  Albans  (1455),  he  defeated  his  opponents 
and  captured  Henry  VI.  whom,  however,  he  soon  released  and 

*  Four  Masters. 

t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.   362. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  364-5.        Four  Masters. 

II  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.    366. 

**  Ibid.,  p.  367. 


346  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Still  recognised  as  King,  but  only  on  condition  that  he  himself 
was  declared  Protector  of  England,  while  he  still  remained 
Viceroy  of  Ireland.  Four  years  after  the  battle  of  St.  Albans, 
war  again  broke  out,  but  this  time  \  ork  was  defeated  at  Ludlow 
(1459),*  was  declared  a  traitor  by  the  Lancastrians  and  fled 
with  his  son,  the  Earl  of  Rutland,  to  Ireland,  where  he  was 
received  with  enthusiasm  by  the  Anglo-Irish,  especially  by  the 
Geraldines — both  Kildare  and  Desmond.  His  popularity  with 
the  Irish  stood  him  in  good  stead.  Declared  guilty  of  high  treason 
by  the  Lancastrians  and  therefore  of  a  crime  punishable  by  death, 
one  of  Ormond's  retainers,  Overy  by  name,  was  sent  from 
England  with  writs  to  seize  \  ork.  But  that  prince,  in  his  capacity 
as  Viceroy,  had  already  summoned  a  parliament  at  Dublin  at 
which,  under  his  inspiration,  it  was  decreed,  that  the  Irish 
Parliament  was  independent  of  that  of  England,  that  no  laws 
enacted  in  England  could  be  enforced  or  were  binding  in  Ireland, 
except  such  as  were  freely  accepted  by  the  Irish  Parliament, 
that  no  writs  could  be  enforced  in  Ireland,  except  those  under 
the  great  seal  of  Ireland,  and  finally,  that  whoever,  directly  or 
indirectly,  sought  to  compass  the  Duke  of  \  ork's  destruction, 
or  to  provoke  rebellion  or  disobedience  towards  him,  should 
stand  as  attainted  of  high  treason  against  the  person  of 
the  King.  This  enactment  was  quickly  put  in  force,  and 
Overy,  when  he  landed  with  his  writs,  was  seized,  tried, 
found  guilty,  and  hanged,  drawn  and  quartered .f  It  may 
have  been  that  the  Anglo-Irish  in  this  legislation  were 
prompted  by  a  desire  to  assert  the  independence  of  the  Irish 
Parliament  and  free  it  from  a  state  of  dependence  on  the  Parlia- 
ment of  England,  but  it  must  have  been  considerations  of  personal 
safety  and  interest  that  moved  the  Duke  of  \  ork,  and  in 
these  proceedings  he  was  much  more  concerned  about  himself 
than  he  was  about  the  independence  of  the  Irish  Parliament. 
The  activity  and  influence  of  York's  son,  Edward,  aided  by 
Warwick,  inflicted  defeat  on  the  Lancastrians,  and  \  ork  was 
enabled  to  go  to  England  where,  however,  he  was  defeated  and 
slain  in  the  following  year. J  But  at  the  battle  of  Towton  (1461), 
his  death  and  defeat  were  soon  avenged,  his  enemy,  the  Earl  of 
Ormond,  was  taken  prisoner  and  beheaded,  and  his  son,  Edward, 
taking  the  title  of  Edward  IV.,  ascended  the  English  throne. 

With  the  death  of  Ormond  the  Butlers  had  lost  their  leader, 
but  their  power  was  still  considerable  ;    they  had  many  friends 


*  Hume's  History  of    England. 
t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.   368-70. 

X  Hume.     Leland,  Vol.  II.,  p.  44.     Of  the  5,000     which  made  up  his 
army  at  Wakefield,  most  were  Irish. 


DECAY   OF    ENGLISH    POWER.  347 

in  Ireland  and  they  had  an  able  chief  in  Sir  John  Butler,  who 
claimed  to  be  the  heir  to  the  earldom  of  Ormond.  Hitherto, 
in  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  he  had  fought  in  England,  and  he  had 
fought  often  against  the  Fitzgeraids.*  The  quarrel  was  now 
renewed  in  Ireland.  The  English  Parliament  had  attainted  him 
of  high  treason,  the  Irish  Parliament  had  confirmed  that  act, 
but  he  eluded  his  enemies  in  England,  landed  at  Waterford 
(11462),  and  with  a  force  partly  Irish  and  partly  English  he 
attacked  that  stronghold.  Desmond  advanced  to  its  relief  and 
the  opposing  forces  met  at  Piltown,  in  Kilkenny,  where  an 
obstinate  battle  was  fought.  The  Butlers  were  defeated,  their 
best  leader,  MacRichard  Butler,  was  taken  prisoner  and,  as 
showing  the  value  attached  to  some  old  manuscripts  in  Ireland, 
he  was  ransomed  by  giving  two  old  manuscripts  to  Desmond, 
which  had  long  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Ormond  family. f 
The  Butlers  were  defeated  but  not  crushed,  for  in  the  next  year 
Sir  John  Butler  was  again  in  rebellion  and  at  the  head  of  a  strong 
force,  but  again  he  was  attacked  and  defeated  by  Desmond,  his 
lands  overrun,  and  his  castles  taken  or  destroyed. +  The  House 
of  i  ork  was  triumphant  in  England,  and  the  Geraldines  in 
Ireland.  Kildare  was  appointed  Lord  High  Chancellor  for  life, 
and  Desmond  Lord  Deputy,  under  the  Duke  of  Clarence  as 
Viceroy.  The  Deputy  reduced  to  obedience  some  refractory 
English  of  Meath  and  made  terms  with  some  of  the  border  Irish 
chiefs,  but  he  was  not  successful  in  an  expedition  against  the 
O'ByrneSjII  and  he  was  defeated  by  O'Brien  of  Thomond.  His 
services  to  the  House  of  \  ork  were  held  in  grateful  remembrance 
by  Edward  IV.,  and  when  the  Bishop  of  Meath  made  personal 
complaint  to  the  King  against  Desmond,  his  complaints  produced 
no  effect  except  to  increase  the  esteem  in  which  Desmond  was 
held  ;  and  he  was  (1464),  sent  back  to  Ireland  with  augmented 
powers.** 

But  the  favour  of  King  Edward  did  not  continue.  Desmond 
was  deprived  of  his  position  (1467),  and  a  new  Viceroy  was  sent 
over — ^Tiptoft,  Earl  of  Worcester.ff  Summoning  a  Parliament  at 
Drogheda,  the  Viceroy  had  Desmond  and  Kildare  attainted  for 
treason,  for  "  alliances  and  fosterage  with  the  King's  enemies." 
Desmond  boldly  went  to  Drogheda  to  face  his  accusers,  but  he 

*  Davies'    Historical  Tracts,  p.  74. 

f  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.  378-9. 

%  Ibid.,  380.  It  was  this  Sir  John  Butler,  afterwards  Earl  of  Ormond,- 
who  was  described  by  Edward  IV.  as  "  the  finest  gentleman  in  Christendom." 

II  Annals   of   MacFirbis,    1463. 

**  Gilbert's   Viceroys,  pp.  381-2. 

ft  Though  a  cruel  man,  Tiptoft  was  an  accomplished  scholar.  (Gilbert's 
Viceroys,  p.  385.) 


348  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  seized  by  Tiptoft  and  put  to  death.  The  crime  with  which 
he  was  charged  was  one  of  which  many  others  were  guilty  and 
were  allowed  to  go  unpunished,  and  should  have  been  entirely 
insufficient  in  the  case  of  one  who  had  done  such  service  to  the 
House  of  \  ork.  It  may  be  that  the  story  is  correct  which 
attributes  his  tragic  fate  to  the  rage  of  an  insulted  queen.  This 
lady  was  Elizabeth  Woodville,  first  married  to  Sir  John  Grey, 
and  secondly  to  Edward  IV.  When  the  monarch  solicited  her 
hand,  she  declared  she  was  too  proud  to  be  his  mistress  and  too 
low  to  be  his  queen,  yet  Edward  married  her  and  she  became 
queen  of  England.  But  the  marriage  was  disapproved  of  by 
many  of  the  King's  friends,  Desmond  amongst  them,  who 
declared  to  the  King  that  he  had  done  wrong  in  marrying  a 
person  so  much  beneath  him,  and  that  he  ought  to  have  her 
divorced  and  make  an  alliance  with  some  foreign  princess.  When 
the  queen  heard  what  the  Earl  had  said  she  determined  to  be 
revenged,  plotted  against  him,  got  him  dismissed  from  office 
and  appointed  her  friend  Tiptoft  in  his  place,  and  got  possession 
of  the  King's  seal  and  affixed  it  to  a  document,  which  she  gave 
to  the  new  Viceroy,  and  which  authorised  Desmond's  execution. 
Whatever  be  the  real  reason  for  the  act  Desmond  was  much 
lamented  in  Ireland.  He  was  a  man  of  many  parts,  a  great 
scholar,  hospitable,  humane  and  charitable,  munificent  to  poets 
and  antiquarians  and  deeply  versed  in  Gaelic  lore.  His  tragic 
end  was  bitterly  resented  by  native  and  Anglo-Irish,  by  cleric 
and  layman,  and  when  Tiptoft  was  taken  prisoner  (1470),  and 
put  to  death,  his  fate  was  regarded  as  retribution  from  heaven 
for  his  treatment  of  Desmond.* 

The  English  found  it  difficult  enough  to  maintain  authority 
within  the  Pale  itself,  even  with  the  aid  of  the  Geraldines,  but 
their  difficulties  were  enormously  increased  when  Garret 
Fitzgerald,  a  kinsman  of  the  dead  Earl,  gathered  together  his 
English  and  Irish  retainers  and  marched  through  Meath  and 
Kildare,  laying  waste  the  English  possessions  as  he  passe<;l.  The 
Viceroy  was  unable  to  make  headway  against  him,  and  thinking 
it  the  safest  thing  to  do,  he  was  withdrawn  from  his  position, 
Kildare  was  exonerated  from  the  charges  made  against  himf 
and  was  appointed  to  the  vacant  office.  Either  as  Viceroy, 
or  Deputy,  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  Irish  Government 
until  his  death  (1477),  and  his  son,  Gerald  after  him,  was,  with  a 
short  interval,  at  the  head  of  the  Government  until  the  accession 
of  the  Tudors.     These  years  were  years  of  disorder  and  weakness 

*  Gilbert's  Vt'ceroys,  pp.  386-7.  Mcehan's  Geraldines,  pp.  42-44 
Four  Masters. 

^  Ibid.,  pp.   390-1. 


DECAY   OF   ENGLISH   POWER.  349 

within  the  Pale.  A  line  drawn  from  Tallaght  to  Saggart  marked 
its  limits  in  the  County  of  Dublin  ;  it  included  but  little  of 
Kildare,  no  part  of  Meath  west  of  Trim,  and  the  most  part  of  the 
County  of  Louth*  ;  and  this  district  was  so  harassed  by  the 
border  Irish,  so  wasted  by  their  inroads,  that  neither  life  nor 
property  was  secure.  The  ancient  example  of  the  Roman  walls 
in  Britain  was  copied  and  a  dyke  was  made  from  Tallaght  to 
Saggart  and  then  northwards,  at  the  making  of  which  it  was 
enacted  by  Parliament  all  able-bodied  men  in  the  Pale  should 
labour,  from  an  hour  and  a  half  after  sunrise  until  sunset ;  and 
whoever  broke  down  this  dyke  was  heavily  fined,  and  if  he 
allowed  his  goats  or  hogs  or  cattle  to  injure  it  these  animals 
were  seized  and  confiscated.  Along  this  rampart,  at  certain 
strategetic  points,  castles  were  built,  tenanted  by  "  loyal  English 
men,"  and  as  far  as  possible  these  castles  were  in  easy  communica- 
tion, one  with  the  other,  so  that  they  could  combine  their  resources 
in  case  of  attack.f  With  the  object  of  keeping  the  inhabitants 
anglicised  and  saving  them  from  Irish  influences,  they  should 
wear  the  English  dress  and  speak  English  and  assume  English 
manners.  Irish  rhymers  were  prohibited  from  coming  among 
the  English,  and  the  English  were  prohibited  from  transacting 
business  with  the  Irish. ^ 

These  enactments  the  executive  was  impotent  to  enforce. 
For  a  time  the  Viceroy's  army  numbered  but  80  archers,  and 
when  this  was  felt  to  be  miserably  insufficient,  it  was  increased 
to  160  archers  and  6^  spearmen,  and  though  ultimately  volun- 
teers were  enrolled,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Brotherhood  of 
St.  George,"  the  English  forces  remained  weak  and  entirely 
inadequate  for  the  defence  of  the  colony.  ||  The  Irish  and  their 
Anglo-Irish  allies  viewed  the  amount  of  these  forces  with  con- 
tempt, broke  through  the  recently  constructed  dyke  and  had  to 
be  repeatedly  bought  off  by  the  payment  of  Black  Rent.  The 
English  traders  were  compelled  to  trade  with  the  Irish,  for  in 
many  cases  there  was  no  one  else  with  whom  they  could  deal, 
and  in  defiance  of  so  many  penal  enactments  Irish  influences 
were  on  the  increase  even  within  the  Pale.  There  were  fosterings 
and  alliances  with  the  natives  and  gossips  and  rhymers  ;  the  Irish 
language  was  spoken  ;  coyne  and  livery  were  exacted  by  the 
English  themselves  ;  and  such  was  the  lawless  condition  of  the 
colony,  that  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin  v/as  unable  to  visit  his 
churches  in  the  more  remote  portions  of  his  diocese.       Those 


*  Stuart's  Historical  Memoirs  of  Armagh  (Coleman's  Ed.)  p.  145,  map. 
t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,   p.   395; 
%  Ibid.,  pp.   401-402. 
II  Ibid.,  p.   396. 


350  HISTORY   OF    IRELAND. 

who  were  given  the  privilege  of  coining  money  issued  base  money 
from  the  mint  ;*  hungry  oi^cials  were  little  concerned  to  advance 
the  interests  of  England  but  were  busy,  by  every  species  of 
exaction,  in  enriching  themselves,  and  in  addition  these  officials 
— the  very  highest  placed  of  them  —  were  unable  to  agree. 
Cornwalshe,  the  Chief  Baron,  abused  Kildare,  the  Lord  Deputy, 
at  the  Council  table,  charged  Lord  Ratoath  with  forgery  and 
even  attempted  his  life,t  and  Dowdall,  a  judge  of  the  King's 
Bench,  while  going  on  a  pilgrimage,  was  set  upon  by  the  Prior 
of  Kilmainham  with  a  drawn  sword  and  put  in  fear  and  danger 
of  his  life.  When  Gerald,  Earl  of  Kildare,  was  elected  by  the 
Irish  Council  to  succeed  his  father  as  Lord  Deputy  (1477),  he  was 
soon  superseded  by  order  of  the  English  King  and  Lord  Grey 
was  sent  over  to  take  his  place.  But  Kildare  refused  to  recognise 
him  or  his  credentials  ;  he  was  backed  up  by  the  Irish  Council  ; 
the  new  Lord  Deputy  was  refused  the  Great  Seal  of  Ireland  ; 
and  when  he  attempted  to  enter  Dublin  Castle,  its  constable, 
the  Prior  of  Kilmainham,  broke  down  the  drawbridge,  garrisoned 
the  Castle,  and  set  Grey  and  his  authority  at  defiance.  And 
the  friends  of  England  were  scandalised  at  the  spectacle  of  Grey 
holding  a  Parliament  and  enacting  laws  at  Trim  (1478),  while 
his  rival,  Kildare,  at  the  same  time  was  holding  a  Parliament 
and  enacting  laws  at  Naas.J  The  persistence  of  Kildare 
conquered.  Grey  was  withdrawn,  Kildare's  disobedience  was 
condoned  ;  in  the  weakened  condition  of  the  colony  to  attack 
such  a  man  would  be  to  destroy  the  feeble  remnant  of  English 
authority,  and  instead  of  being  punished  he  was  re-appointed 
with  largely  augmented  powers,  such  powers  as  made  him  almost 
an  independent  sovereign.  ||  Perhaps  it  was  hoped  that  with 
these  increased  powers,  with  his  large  family  connections  Anglo- 
Irish  and  native,*  *  he  would  at  least  be  able  to  preserve,  perhaps 
even  to  extend,  the  limits  of  the  Pale,  and  to  re-establish  order 
and  security  within  its  bounds.  But  his  success  was  not  great, 
and  in  a  Parliament  held  (1485),  Sir  Alexander  Plunkett  was 
authorised  to  levy  by  distress  from  the  English  of  Mcath  the  wages 
due  to  O'Connor  of  Offaly,  a  fact  which  shows  that  the  English 
colony  was  so  weak  as  to  be  unable  to  defend  itself,  and  had  to 
purchase  the  forbearance  of  this  Irish  chief. f| 

*  Gilbert's    Viceroys^    pp.    398-9. 

t  Ibid.,  p.   397. 

X  Ibid,  pp.  404-7. 

II  Ibid.,  pp.  407-10.  Also  notes,  pp.  600-1.  Kildare  got  these  powers 
in  148 1.  His  office  was  that  of  Deputy  to  Prince  Richard,  Duke  of  York, 
who  was  nominally  Viceroy. 

**  One  of  Kildare's  sisters  was  married  to  Henry  O'Neill  of  Tirowen; 

tf  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  p.  420. 


DECAY    OF   ENGLISH   POWER.  35 1 

While  the  colony  was  thus  weakened  and  disorganised,  and 
the  strength  of  England  at  home  exhausted  in  disastrous  civil 
wars,  it  would  have  been  easy  for  the  Irish  to  have  broken  through 
the  rampart  which  encircled  the  Pale,  and  to  have  overwhelmed 
in  ruin  the  feeble  remnant  of  English  power.  A  little  unity,  a 
small  combination  among  chiefs,  a  capable  and  vigorous  leader 
was  all  that  was  required  ;  the  work  ot  Strongbow  was  reversed, 
and  three  centuries  of  spoliation  and  plunder  were  avenged. 
But  there  was  no  such  combination,  no  such  unity  and  no  such 
leader.  If  we  look  to  Connaught,  we  behold  a  province  in  which 
discord  reigns  supreme.  Time  has  but  aggravated  its  ills,  even 
the  semblance  of  a  central  authority  has  ceased  to  exist,  for  no 
prince  receives  the  undivided  allegiance  of  the  natives,  and  the 
prospect  of  anyone  doing  so  in  the  future  may  be  set  down  as 
remote  and  almost  impossible.  With  only  the  memory  of  their 
ancient  power,  the  O'Connors  still  quarrelled  among  themselves, 
and  the  arrangement  by  which  they  were  divided  into  two 
branches,  instead  of  composing  their  differences  only  aggravated 
them.  O'Connor  Roe  sometimes  sought  to  assert  a  superiority 
over  his  kinsman,  O'Connor  Don,  and  sometimes  had  to  defend 
himself  against  his  attack.  In  these  disputes  they  obtained  the 
aid  of  the  other  Connaught  chiefs,  and  sometimes  the  aid  of 
O'Neill  or  O'Donnell  from  the  northern  province.  And  there 
were  a  few  cases  when  an  O'Connor  chief,  abler  and  stronger 
than  others  of  his  name,  even  challenged  O'Neill  or  O'Donnell, 
and  once  even  measured  swords  with  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell, 
acting  together.*  The  example  of  the  O'Connors  was  followed 
by  the  other  Connaught  chiefs  who,  like  them,  would  recognise 
no  law  but  their  own  wills.  A  subordinate  position  in  the  clan 
was  despised  by  every  aspiring  member  of  the  ruling  family, 
and  the  squalid  splendours  of  these  petty  chieftaincies  were 
coveted  with  as  much  eagerness,  and  fought  for  with 
as  much  energy,  and  even  ferocity,  as  if  they  con- 
tended for  the  throne  of  some  mighty  empire.  When  Turlogh 
O'Connor  Roe  died  (1426),  a  desultory  war  was  carried  on  by 
his  sons  on  the  one  side  and  O'Connor  Don  on  the  other,  partial 
success  followed  by  temporary  pre-eminence  was  attained  by 
Cahal  O'Connor  Roe,  but  when  he  died  these  family  quarrels 
were  renewed,  for  Teige  O'Connor  Roe  and  Turlogh  O'Connor 
Don  each  claimed  to  be  the  chiefs  of  the  O'Connors,  their  rivalries 
were  continued  and  transmitted  to  their  descendants,  nor  did 
the  struggle  cease  for  the  whole  fifteenth  century.f  With  other 
clans  it  was  similar,  and  the  record  of  the  Fo^ir  Masters  is,  that 

*  Four  Masters,   1422. 

I   The  O' Conors  of  Connaught,  pp.  159,  et  seq. 


352  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

there  were  two  rival  O'Connors  quarrelling  (1445),  two  O'Farrels 
fighting  for  the  chieftaincy  of  Annally*  and  two  MacDonaghs 
fighting  for  the  chieftaincy  of  Tirerill  (1446).  In  this  latter 
case  the  district  was  divided  between  the  two  rivals,  but  it  was 
no  more  effective  in  establishing  peace  than  in  the  case  of  the 
O'Connors.  A  war  of  succession  raged  in  Hy-Many  (1464), 
between  the  MacRannells  (1473)  ;  and  the  Burkes,  forgetting 
their  Norman  descent,  abandoned  the  feudal  system,  had  volun- 
tarily submitted  to  the  paralysing  influence  of  the  clan  system 
instead,  and  fought  among  themselves  with  as  much  bitterness 
and  passion  as  the  O'Connors,  or  the  O'Kellys.t 

In  the  South,  Desmond  and  the  MacCarthys  were  at  war 
(1430),  +  and  such  was  the  blindness  of  the  MacCarthys  to  their 
own  safety  that  they  were  (1449)  quarrelling  among  themselves. 
\et  Munster  was  not  so  harassed  by  war  as  Connaught  was. 
In  Thomond  there  were  disputes  as  to  the  chieftaincy  but  at 
least  the  power  of  the  O'Briens  was  still  great,  and  under  the 
rule  of  Teige  O'Brien  an  attempt  was  made  to  place  Thomond 
in  the  proud  position  she  occupied  in  the  days  of  the  great  Brian. 
At  the  head  of  the  Dalcassian  chiefs  he  marched  across  the 
Shannon,  met  and  defeated  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  attacked  and 
captured  the  city  of  Limerick,  compelled  that  city  to  pay  him 
a  tribute  of  60  marks-'a  year,  and  compelledDesmond  to  cede  to 
him  the  County  of  Limerick  and  the  barony  of  Clanwilliam  in 
Tipperary.  He  might,  and  probably  would,  have  followed  up 
these  successes  by  attacking  the  northern  princes  and  the  Pale, 
but  he  died  in  a  few  months  (1466)  ;  ||  after  his  death  fresh 
disputes  broke  out  in  Thomond,  unity  was  at  an  end,  and  the 
hope  of  a  Dalcassian  prince  becoming  Ardri  was  extinguished 
finally  and  for  ever. 

In  Ulster,  O'Neill  was  first  in  power  among  its  chiefs.  In 
his  palace  at  Ailech  he  lived  where  his  ancestors  had  lived  and 
ruled  for  a  thousand  yeai"3,  and  by  the  other  northern  chiefs 
was  treated  with  a  respect  similar  to  that  given  by  the  ancient 
kings  to  the  Ardri  who  ruled  at  Tara.  But  though  his  power 
was  considerable  and  sufficient  to  extract  some  form  of  homage 
and  tribute  from  the  neighbouring  clans,  he  was  either  careless 
or  powerless  to  establish  any  real  authority  over  them.  These 
clans  were  still  independent,  ruled  by  their  own  chiefs,  and  while 
they  sometimes  helped,  they  also  sometimes  went  to  war  with 
the  O'Neills.  This  was  especially  the  case  with  the  O'Donnells, 
whose  power  was  always  little  inferior  to  O'Neill,  sometimes  was 

*  Fotir  Masters,    1445. 
t  Ibid. 

X   Ibid: 

II  Annals  of  MacFirbis. 


DECAY   OF   ENGLISH   POWER.  353 

•even  superior,  and  who  consistently  refused  to  recognise  the 
supremacy  of  Tirovven.  They  were  seldom  on  the  same  side  in 
battle,  and  more  frequently  were  on  opposite  sides.  They  did 
unite  against  O'Connor  Roe  (1422),  and  in  the  following  year, 
with  the  other  Ulster  chiefs,  they  defeated  the  English  Viceroy, 
and  a  little  later  (1424),  apparently  fighting  on  the  same  side, 
they  were  defeated  by  Sir  John  Talbot,  and  an  O'Neill  and  an 
O'Donnell  were  taken  prisoners  and  had  to  be  ransomed  by 
their  friends.*  But  when  O'Neill  attacked  Dundalk  (1430), 
and  compelled  the  English  there  to  pay  him  tribute,  as  he  did 
the  English  of  Meath,  O'Donnell  was  not  fighting  by  his  side  ; 
neither  did  he  assist  him  to  defeat  the  Savages  of  Down  ^1433). 
And  when  there  were  wars  of  succession  in  Tirconnell  (1434), 
in  Tirowen  (1435),  and  again  in  Tirconnell  (1461),  the  O'Neills 
and  O'Donnells  were  ranged  on  opposite  sides. f 

This  .  want  of  union  between   the  northern   chiefs  rendered 
combination  against  the  English  impossible.      But  there    is  no 
evidence  to  show  that  any  of  these  native  chiefs  wished    the 
destruction  of  English  power  ;    they  were  just  as  eager  to  defeat 
and  humiliate  their  own  countrymen,  and  for  that  purpose  were 
quite  willing  to^purchase  English  assistance,  as  in  fact  they  often 
did.    With  his  own  forces  of  Tirowen  and  such  forces  as  MacMahon 
and  Magennis  and  the  other  chiefs  of  the  east  of    Ulster  would 
have  readily  given  him  O'Neill  could,  without  difficulty,  during 
the  civil  wars  in  England,  have  destroyed  the  English  colony  in 
Ireland.      To  such  forces  as  he  could  command  an  army  of  200 
men  could  offer  no  effective  resistance,  and  this  was  as  large  a 
force  as  the  Pale  could  supply.     Like  an  old  crumbling  ruin,  the 
whole    structure    of    English    authority    was    tottering    to    its 
fall,  and    one  vigorous    blow  would    have    laid  it    level    with 
the  dust.      But  the  blow  was  not  given.      O'Neill  was  satisfied 
to  get  his    Black  Rent,  and  the  heir  and  successor  of  the  high 
Kings  of  Erin  was  not  ashamed,  for  hire,  and  for  paltry  hire,  to 
act  as  the  policeman  of  the  Pale.     The  action,  or  rather  inaction, 
of  the  Leinster  chiefs  was  still  harder  to  explain.    Their  territories, 
being  nearest  to  the  English  colonists,  had  suffered  most  from 
their  attacks.  Their  lands  had  been  repeatedly  laid  waste  and  their 
clansmen  robbed,  and  they  knew  that  it  was  impotence  alone 
that   restrained   the   English   from   doing   in   the   present   what 
they  had  so  often  done  in  the  past.     The  spirit  of  these  English 
was  still  manifested  m  their  laws  and  they  still  judged  the  Irish 
unworthy  of  being  English  subjects,  fit  only  to  be  plundered 
and  even  murdered,  and  they  declared  it  treason  for  an  English 

*  Four  Masters. 
t  Ibidi 

2A 


354  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

subject  to  associate  with  them,  still  more  to  copy  their  customs 
or  speak  their  tongue.*  Vet  O'Connor  of  Offaly  remained  quiet, 
because  he  was  paid  Black  Rent  from  Meath  and  Kildare ; 
O'Carroll  of  Ely  granted  peace  to  the  English  of  Kilkenny  and 
Tipperary  for  an  annual  payment  of  ^40  ;  O'Brien  of  Thomond  to 
Limerick  for  a  like  amount,  MacCarthy  to  Cork  and  MacMurrogh 
to  Wexford.]"  Experience  had  taught  nothing  to  these  chiefs. 
Unmindful  of  the  future,  they  contrasted  the  present  with  the 
past,  congratulated  themselves  on  the  security  which  they 
enjoyed,  and  with  childish  vanity  plumed  themselves  on  having 
humbled  the  once  dreaded  English,  and  in  each  clan  some  venal 
bard  was  prepared  to  sing  the  praises  of  his  chief,  of  his  prowess 
in  war  and  his  triumphs  over  the  hated  foe. 

*  Cox,  p.    169.     Enactment  of  the  Parliament  at  Trim  (1465.) 
f  These  payments  are  given  by  Cox  (Hibernia  Anglicanay  p.  166.) 

Louth  paid  to  O'Neill  of  Clanaboy  £2.0. 

Oriel      paid  to  O'Neill  of  Tirowen  ^40. 

Meath  paid  to  O'Connor  C60. 

Kildare  paid  to  O'Connor  ;£20. 

Kilkenny  and  Tipperary  paid  to  O'Carroll  £^0. 

Limerick  paid  to  O'Brien  ^40. 

Cork  paid  to  MacCarthy  ^^40. 

Wexford     paid  to  MacMurrogh  £d,0- 
The    Exchequer  at  Dublin    paid  to  MacMurrogh  80  marks. 


landan,  Satan  Paul ,  Trmch  £■  C 


W^'ic-aGr.iham 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

In    the    Reign    of    Henry     VII. 

Richard  III.,  his  character — Relations  with  the  Irish — His  death — Henry 
VII.  succeeds  him — Lambert  Simnel — His  reception  in  Dublin — 
Supported  by  the  Earl  of  Kildare — Is  crowned  King  as  Edward  VI. — 
Battle  of  Stoke — Simnel's  fate — Sir  R.  Edgecombe  sent  to  Ireland 
as  Royal  Commissioner — Kildare's  conduct — Is  summoned  to  England- 
Dismissed  from  office — Poynings  appointed  Viceroy — Parliament 
at  Drogheda — Poyning's  Act — Perkin  Warbeck  in  Ireland — Aided 
by  the  Earl  of  Desmond — Kildare  in  London — Tried — Acquitted — And 
appointed  Viceroy — His  energetic  measures — The  native  Irish — In 
Thomond — and  Connaught — and  [Ulster — Kildare  and  the  Irish 
chiefs — Battle  of  Knockdoe. 

In  the  long  line  of  English  Kings  there  is  not  one  whose  memory 
is  more  execrated  than  Richard  III.  To  call  a  man  a  hypocrite, 
a  liar,  and  an  assassin  is  to  call  him  hard  names,  but  in  Richard's 
case  these  epithets  are  not  undeserved.  No  one  could  trust 
him,  no  one  was  in  his  power  with  safety  ;  he  sacrificed  his  friends 
as  readily  as  his  enemies,  and  spilt  the  blood  of  his  brother  and 
his  nephews  for  no  reason,  except  that  they  stood  nearer  by 
birth  to  the  throne,  which  he  wished  to  seize.  In  him  a  mis- 
shapen body  was  the  outward  and  appropriate  expression  of 
a  mind,  distorted  and  diseased.  His  character  has  been  sketched 
by  Shakespeare  with  the  merciless  severity  of  genius,  yet,  the 
picture  of  the  dramatist  is  hardly  more  repulsive  than  that  of  the 
historian  ;  and  it  is  the  historian  that  relates  that,  after  the 
battle  of  Bosworth,  the  body  of  the  dead  king  was  stripped 
naked,  flung  contemptuously  on  a  horse's  back,  and  thus  carried 
into  Leicester  amid  the  jeers  and  execrations  of  the  people.* 
And  such  was  the  rage  of  the  populace,  hardly  was  it  allowed 
the  rite  of  Christian  burial. f  But  if  the  life  and  acts  of 
Richard  were  viewed  with  abhorrence  in  England,  and  his 
fall  welcomed  with  delight  in   Ireland,   it  was  different.      The 


*  Lingard,   Vol.  IV.,-  p.    127. 
I  Bacon's  Life  of  Henry  Vll. 
p.   308.) 


{Essays  and  Historical  Works:     Bohn, 


356  HISTORY |0F   IRELAND.^  ' 

dead  King  was  of  the  House  of  York,  son  to  that  Viceroy  whose 
memory  in  Ireland  was  held  in  such  grateful  remembrance.* 
Of  his  acts  of  cruelty  in  England  the  Irish  knew  little  ;  what 
they  did  not  see  or  feel,  they  did  not  wish  to  believe  ;  and  these 
vices  which  excited  abhorrence  at  home,  and  were  seen  by  the 
English  in  all  their  naked  deformity — in  Ireland,  either  were 
not  seen  or  known  at  all,  or,  if  they  were  known,  were  rendered 
less  repulsive  by  distance  and  partiality.  Among  the  Anglo- 
Irish  the  Geraldines  were  then  the  most  powerful,  as  they  had 
been  always  the  staunchest,  supporters  of  the  House  of  York 
and  during  his  short  reign  Richard  was  careful  to  cultivate 
their  good  will.  He  had  continued  Kildare  in  his  ofifice  of  Lord 
Deputy,  he  had  augmented  his  privileges  and  powers,  and  he 
had  sent  the  most  flattering  letters  to  the  Earl  of  Desmond, 
made  him  many  presents,f  and  called  him  his  cousin,  as  he  did 
also  to  Kildare.  And  thus  it  happened  that  the  fall  of  the 
tyrant  was  regretted  by  the  Anglo-Irish,  and  the  triumph  of 
Henry  VII.  wasview  ed  with  disgust.  They  still  clung  to 
the  \  orkists  as  the  rightful  heirs  to  the  throne,  regarded  Henry 
Tudor  as  an  usurper,  and  were  ready  to  champion  the  claims 
of  those  pretenders  whose  object  was  to  re-establish  the  fallen 
fortunes  of  the  house  of  York,  and  to  hurl  the  usurping  Tudor 
from   his   throne. 

The  first  of  these  pretenders  was  Lambert  Simnel.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  joiner  at  Oxford,  one  Thomas  Simnel  by  name. 
He  was  handsome  in  person,  attractive  in  manner,  with  an 
intelligence  beyond  his  years  and  a  dignity  of  bearing 
beyond  the  position  in  which  he  was  born.  These  qualities 
attracted  the  notice  of  one  Richard  Simons,  a  priest  at  Oxford, 
a  man  doubtless  who  bore  no  good-will  to  the  reigning  King, 
and  he  considered  that  young  Simnel  could  be  got  to  successfully 
personate  the  young  Earl  of  Warwick,  then  a  prisoner  in  the 
Tower  of  London.  He  took  the  boy  under  his  care,  informed 
him  of  the  principal  events  in  the  life  of  the  prince,  carefully 
taught  him  what  he  was  to  say  and  do,  and  when  his  pupil 
was  fifteen  years  of  age  took  him  with  him  to  Dublin  (1487), 
and  proclaimed  him  there  as  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  son  to  the 
Duke  of  Clarence,  who,  he  said,  had  escaped  from  his  prison 
in  London.  J      The  Lord  Deputy  was  long  suspected  by  Henry 

*  Hume's  History  of  England.     Genealogical  Tables. 

•]•  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  pp.  415-19.  He  sent  him  through  his  Councillorj 
the  Bishop  of  Annadown  "  a  long  gown  of  cloth  of  gold  lined  with 
satin  or  damask,  two  doublets — one  velvet,  one  crimson  satinj  three 
shirts^  three  stomachers,  three  pairs  of  hose,  three  bonnets,  two  hatSj 
two  tippets  of  velvet." 

X  Lingard^   Vol.   IV.,  pp.    135-7.     Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.  425 


IN   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   VII.  357 

VII.  of  disloyalty.  To  declare  for  Simnel  would  be  to  confirm 
the  worst  suspicions  of  the  King,  and  for  a  time  Kildare  held 
aloof  from  Simons  and  his  pupil,  though  his  brother,  Lord 
Thomas  Fitzgerald,  resigned  his  position  as  Lord  Chancellor 
to  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  pretender.  And  the  Archbishop 
of  Dublin,  the  Bishop  of  Meath,  the  Prior  of  Kilmainham  and 
other  ecclesiastics  and  high-placed  officials,  as  well  as  the  citizens 
of  Dublin,  followed  the  Chancellor's  example.  To  prevent  the 
English  from  becoming  his  adherents,  Henry  VIL  had  the 
real  Earl  of  Warwick  taken  from  the  Tower  and  marched  through 
London,  where  he  conversed  with  many,  and  this  prevented 
some  at  least  from  swelling  the  ranks  of  Simnel's  followers. 
But  others  would  not  be  warned.  They  professed  to  believe, 
as  did  the  Anglo-Irish,  that  Simnel  was  the  real  Warwick  and 
the  youth  who  was  marched  through  London  only  a  counterfeit. 
Among  these  in  England  were  Sir  Thomas  Broughton  and 
Lord  Lovel,  and  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,*  but  most  important 
of  all  was  the  aid  given  by  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  sister 
to  Richard  III.  She  had,  according  to  Bacon,  the  spirit  of  a 
man  and  the  malice  of  a  woman. f  She  was  a  widow  and  rich, 
active,  scheming,  ambitious,  mourning  over  the  downfall  of 
the  House  of  York,  and  ready  to  help  in  any  movement  that 
would  give  trouble  to  the  reigning  King.;|:  She  pretended 
to  believe  that  young  Simnel  was  indeed  her  nephew,  who  had 
but  lately  escaped  from  the  hands  of  the  royal  tyrant.  She 
willingly  and  eagerly  espoused  his  cause,  and  fitted  up  an  army 
of  2,000  under  an  able  leader,  Martin  Schwartz  ;  and  this 
force  landed  in  Dublin  in  the  early  part  of  the  year.  At  last, 
Kildare  threw  off  the  mask  he  had  worn,  boldly  pronounced 
in  Simnel's  favour,  and  with  the  chief  citizens  of  Dublin  and 
the  higher  of^cials  assembled  at  Christchurch,  on  the  24th  of 
May,  and  the  pretender  was  crowned  King  by  the  Bishop  of 
Meath,  with  the  title  of  Edward  VI.  ||  On  his  head  was  placed 
a  crown,  taken  from  the  statue  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  in 
St.  Mary's  Abbey  ;  he  was  clothed  in  splendid  and  costly  robes, 
and  after  the  ceremony  a  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Bishop 
of  Meath.  On  the  shoulders  of  a  gigantic  Irishman — Darcy 
of  Flatten — he  was  then  carried  through  the  city  ;  the  people 
enthusiastically  applauded  him  as  he  passed,  and  such  was  the 

*  Lingard,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  137.  Lincoln  had  frequently  conversed  with 
the  real  Warwick,  and  therefore  knew  Simnel  to  be  an  impostor. 

t  Henry   VII.,  p.   328. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  329.  "All  the  counsels  of  his  succeeding  troubles  came 
chiefly  out  of  that  quiver."  Bacon  thinks  too  that  the  widow  of  Edward 
IV.  had  a  share  in  these  plots  as  "  she  was  a  busy  negotiating  woman." 

II   Gilbert's    Viceroys,   pp.   428-9, 


358  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

dignity  with  which  the  boy  comported  himself,  that  even  his 
enemies  declared  he  did  no  dishonour  to  the  royal  robes  which 
he  wore.*  The  Archbishops  of  Armagh,  Cashel  and  Tuam, 
and  the  Bishop  of  Clogher,  the  Butlers  and  the  city  of  Waterford 
alone  of  all  the  Anglo-Irish,  remained  faithful  to  the  House 
of  Tudor  ;  "f"  the  remainder  supported  the  pretender.  A  month 
after  his  coronation,  he  made  a  descent  on  the  coast  of  England, 
at  the  head  of  his  army  of  English,  Anglo-Irish  and  Germans, 
and  at  Stoke  they  were  encountered  (iith  June)  by  Henry  VII. 
himself,  with  a  far  more  numerous  army.  The  Irish  fought 
bravely,  but  they  fought  without  armour,|  the  contest  was 
long  maintained,  but  the  result  was  decisive  and  for  the  pretender 
disastrous.  Most  of  the  Irish  were  slain,  so  was  Schwartz,  and 
greater  part  of  his  Germans.  The  priest,  Simons,  was  taken 
prisoner  and  imprisoned  in  a  dark  dungeon  for  life,  and  Simnel 
himself  was  captured  and  degraded  to  the  menial  occupation 
of  turnspit  in  the  King's  kitchen. 

The  English  nobles  and  gentlemen  who  had  fought  with 
Simnel  at  Stoke  were  attainted.  The  Anglo-Irish  nobles — 
Kildare  ||  and  the  rest — were  equally  guilty,  and  Henry  had 
got  letters  from  the  Pope  excommunicating  them.  But  he 
went  no  further  than  this.  They  had  tried  to  make  to  him 
the  best  excuses  they  could  and  he  had  accepted  these  excuses, 
though  he  told  them  he  was  much  displeased,  and  expected 
that  they  would  give  new  and  binding  pledges  of  their  allegiance, 
and  atone  by  their  loyal  conduct  of  the  future  for  their  disloyalty 
of  the  past.  Patents  of  pardon  were  made  out,  and  a  special 
Commissioner,  Sir  Richard  Edgecombe,  was  sent  to  Ireland  to 
absolve  Kildare  and  his  confederates  of  their  treason,  and  to 
receive  them  into  favour  with  the  King.**  Leaving  Cornwall, 
with  four  ships  and  500  men,  he  arrived  at  Kinsale,  on  the  27th 
of  June,  1488,  and  landed  on  the  following  day.  He  was  met 
by  the  Lords  Barry  and  Courcy,  the  keys  of  the  town  were 
delivered  to  him,  and  these  noblemen  and  the  citizens  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Henry  VII.  ,and  received  in  return  the 
King's   pardon    for    their   share   in    the   late   rebellion.       From 

*  Cox.     Hibernia  Anglicana,  p.    179.     Ware's  Annals. 

t  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.  427. 

+  Lingard,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  138.  The  Irish  had  "darts  and  skeans."  I 
suspect  they  had  battle  axes  also,  which  shows,  says  Lingard,  that  the 
English  settlers  had  adopted  the  arms  of  the  natives. 

II  Bacon  (p.  333),  is  entirely  in  error  in  stating  that  Kildare  was  at 
Stoke  and  was  killed  there;  it  was  his  brother,  Lord  Thomas  Fitzgerald. 

**  The  Voyage  of  Sir  Richard  Edgecombe,  apparently  written  by 
Edgecombe  himself,  in  the  form  of  a  journal,  and  included  as  the  third 
of  the  tracts  in  Harris's  Hibernica,  pp.   59-77. 


IN   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   VII.  359 

Kinsale  he  made  his  way  to  Waterford,  where  he  landed  on 
the  first  day  of  July,  and  where  he  was  enthusiastically  received. 
The  Mayor  showed  him  round  the  city,  pointed  out  the  fortifi- 
cations and  brought  him  into  the  "  Guildhall  of  the  said  city," 
where  the'  city  council  was  assembled.  Against  the  Earl  of 
Kildare  the  citizens  were  specially  incensed,  and  the  Mayor 
asked  the  Commissioner  that  if  the  Earl  was  to  be  pardoned 
and  continued  as  Lord  Deputy,  the  city  be  specially  exempt 
from  his  jurisdiction.  Its  effusive  loyalty  to  England  was  at 
all  times  remarkable.  The  regret  of  the  citizens  seemed  to  be 
that  they  were  on  the  wrong  side  of  St.  George's  Channel  ; 
they  wished  to  bepart  of  England, and  they  made  a  special  request 
that  if  they  were  to  be  subject  to  any  Viceroy  at  all  and  were 
not  to  be  exempt  from  his  jurisdiction,  at  least  he  should  be 
an  English  lord,  for  in  their  eyes  that  they  should  be  subject  to 
a  mere  Irishman's  rule  was  not  to  be  borne.  Edgecombe  was 
prodigal  of  promises,  and  set  sail  for  Dublin,  where  he  was  not 
so  enthusiastically  received.  He  lodged  at  the  Dominican 
Abbey  of  the  Blackfriars,  but  although  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin 
and  others  visited  him,  Kildare  did  not  until  a  full  week  had 
passed.  The  Commissioner  was  displeased,  and  when  he  met 
the  Deputy  was  disposed  to  be  stern  and  haughty  and  to  lecture 
him  on  his  conduct,  but  Kildare  was  in  no  humour  to  submit 
to  such  rebukes.  He  was  slow  to  receive  Edgecombe  at  all, 
he  was  slow  to  come  to  any  satisfactory  arrangement  with  him, 
and  although  he  treated  him  hospitably  at  his  Castle  of  Maynooth, 
he  was  above  all  slow  to  give  those  binding  pledges  of  good 
behaviour  which  the  Englishman  wished  to  obtain,  and  declared, 
himself  and  the  Council,  that  if  these  terms  were  insisted 
on  "  they  would  become  Irish  everyone  of  them."  *  The 
pride  of  the  Commissioner  gave  way  to  his  prudence,  a 
compromise  was  arrived  at ;  he  was  satisfied,  or  pretended  to 
be  satisfied,  with  Kildare's  promises,  and  that  nobleman  swore 
on  the  Consecrated  Host  to  be  henceforth  a  faithful  subject  of 
Henry  VII.,  and  never  again  to  countenance  any  rebellion 
against  his  throne.  In  token  of  reconciliation  Edgecombe 
hung  a  gold  chain  round  the  Earl's  neck.  He  was  continued 
in  the  office  of  Lord  Deputy,  the  sentences  of  excommunication 
against  ecclesiastics  and  others  were  removed,  and  all  those 
who  had  aided  the  pretender  and  who  now  submitted  were 
granted  the  King's  pardon,  all  except  the  Prior  of  Kilmainham.  f 


*  Edgecomb's  Narrative,  p.  65.  Harris  thinks  that  the  condition 
sought  to  be  imposed  was  that  they  bound  themselves  to  a  forfeiture  of 
iheir  estates,  unless  they  continued  faithful  to '-the  King. 

f  Ibid.  pp.  67-9. 


360  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

This  treatment  of  the  Anglo-Irish  is  in  marked  contrast 
with  that  meted  out  to  the  English,  but  it  was  not  that  Henry- 
believed  them  less  guilty,  nor  that  he  loved  them  more,  but 
that  he  feared  them  more.  He  was  cool,  calculating,  marching 
in  all  his  acts  with  measured  tread.  His  title  to  the  throne 
was  weak,  he  was  not  personally  popular,  the  ^  orkist  party 
still  existed,  the  fires  of  discontent  smouldered,  and  if  a  suitable 
opportunity  were  offered  would  again  burst  into  flame.  And 
just  such  an  opportunity  would  be  offered  if  matters  were 
pushed  to  extremes  against  the  Earl  of  Kildare  and  his  partners 
in  the  late  rebellion.  He  had  enormous  influence  with  the 
Anglo-Irish  ;  as  the  champion  of  the  House  of  \  ork,  he  would 
have  still  more,  for  the  whole  forces  of  the  Anglo-Irish  would 
be  with  him,  except  the  faction  of  the  Butlers.  Nor  was  it 
unlikely  that  the  native  chiefs  also  would  range  themselves 
on  his  side.  They  took  little  interest,  and  no  share,  in  the 
struggle  between  \  ork  and  Lancaster,  but  their  good  wishes 
would  be  with  the  ^  orkists,  and,  besides,  many  of  them  were 
allied  by  marriage  with  the  Geraldines.  A  sister  of  Kildare's 
was  married  to  Henry  O'Neill  of  Tirowen,  his  daughter,  Alice,  was 
married  to  Con  O'Neill  of  the  same  princely  line,  his  daughter, 
Eleanor,  was  married  to  MacCarthy  of  Carbery,  his  daughter, 
Eustacia,  to  Burke  of  Clanrickard,  and  his  son  was  married 
to  Maeve,  daughter  of  O'Connor  of  Offaly,  while  his  relative, 
Desmond,  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  O'Brien  of  Thomond.* 
To  drive  to  desperation  a  man  having  so  many  powerful  friends 
would  be  in  the  highest  degree  unwise,  and  would  ill  accord 
with  the  well-known  prudence  of  King  Henry,  and  so  it  happened 
that  for  the  English  lords  and  gentlemen  who  fought  at  Stoke 
there  was  punishment,  but  for  Kildare  and  his  Irish  allies  there 
was  pardon  and  even   royal   favours. 

Peace  was  thus  established  in  Ireland,  and  Edgecombe 
returned  to  England,  but  Kildare  did  not  retain  the  King's 
favour  long.  A  little  later  (1490),  he  was  guilty  of  some  acts 
(what  they  were  is  not  clear),  and  again  he  had  to  ask  and  obtain 
the  King's  pardon.  He  received  it  on  condition  that  he  at 
once  repaired  to  England,  so  that  the  King  might  personally 
consult  with  him  on  Irish  affairs.  But  Kildare  was  distrustful, 
perhaps  he  feared  that  his  past  conduct  might  be  remembered 
and  punished,  and  thinking  himself  safer  in  Ireland  than  in 
London,  he  got  the  Irish  Parliament  to  petition  the  King  that 
Irish  affairs  urgently  demanded  his  presence,  and  would  suffer 
by  his  absence,  and  the  most  profuse  protestations  were  sent 
on   his    behalf  of   his   loyalty   to   the   throne.f      Excused   from 

*  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.  418-424.  f  Ibid.,  pp.   440-2. 


IN   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   VII.  36 1 

going  to  England  ,  and  still  continued  as  Lord  Deputy,  he  was 
soon  mixed  up  in  a  quarrel  between  two  members  of  the  Butler 
family.  One  of  these — Sir  Piers — had  married  Kildare's  sister, 
the  other  was  Sir  James.  The  head  of  the  family — the  Earl 
of  Ormond — lived  in  England,  and  to  manage  his  Irish  estates 
had  appointed  Sir  James  as  his  deputy,  but  Sir  Piers  claimed 
the  position,  as  the  nearest  male  heir  to  the  Earldom.  Kildare 
espoused  the  cause  of  Sir  Piers.  Sir  James  was  aided  by  O'Brien 
of  Thomond,  the  quarrel  was  long  and  bitter  and,  ultimately. 
Sir  James  prevailed,  and  taking  his  rival  captive,  threw  him 
into  prison,  from  which  he  was  liberated  through  the  friendly 
interference  of  the  Earl  of  Desmond.*  Kildare's  connection 
with  these  disputes  excited  the  King's  displeasure,  but  his 
displeasure  was  intensified  when  he  learned  that  the  Lord  Deputy 
was  holding  treasonable  correspondence  with  the  Scotch  and 
French  kings,f  that  he  was  in  secret  league  with  some  of  the 
native  chiefs,  and  that,  in  violation  of  all  his  protestations  of 
loyalty,  he  was  favourable  to  the  latest  pretender  who  had 
appeared.  The  Lord  Deputy  was  dismissed  from  of^ce  and 
Fitzsimons,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  appointed  in  his  place  (1492). 
The  new  Deputy,  assisted  by  Sir  James  Desmond,J  treated 
Kildare's  friends  with  harshness  ;  Kildare  sent  messengers  to 
England  to  explain  his  conduct  and  to  defend  him,  but  their 
pleadings  were  vain,  and  two  royal  Commissioners — VVyatt 
and  Garth — were  sent  over.  These  Commissioners,  aided 
by  Ormond,  were  guilty  of  violence  against  the  friends  of  the 
fallen  Deputy,  and  even  murdered  his  ally,  O'Connor  of  Offaly. 
But  the  Earl  was  not  a  safe  man  to  provoke,  and  seizing  Garth 
(1493),  he  flung  him  into  prison  and  sent  his  son  to  the  scaffold.  |! 
Tired  of  ruling  Ireland  by  native  Viceroys  or  Deputies,  who 
used  their  power  only  to  oppress  some  rival,  Henry  at  length 
sent  over  an  Englishman — Sir  Edward  Poynings — as  Lord 
Deputy.**  He  landed  at  Dublin,  in  October,  1494,  and  was 
accompanied  by  1,000  soldiers.  He  was  a  man  of  energetic 
character,  and  summoning  to  his  aid  both  Kildare  and  Sir 
James  Ormond,  they  proceeded  north  to  chastise  O'Donnell 
of  Tirconnell,  who,  it  was  said,  was  in  league  with  the  Scotch 
king.  But  while  proceeding  through  the  territories  of  O'Hanlon 
and  Magennis,  Ormond  privately  informed  him  that  Kildare 
was   in   secret   league   with   O'Hanlon,    that    the   Deputy's   life 

*  Gilbert's    Viceroys,    p.    462. 
•f-  Ibid.,  pp.  445-8. 

X  I  find  him  so  called    by  Gilbert,  though  of  course  his  name  was  Butler. 
II  Gilbert's     Viceroys,  p.   448. 

**  Prince   Henry,  afterwards  Henry  VIII.,  was  nominally  Viceroy,  or 
Lord  Lieutenant  (vid.  Ware's  List.) 


362  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  endangered  and  plotted  against^  and  that  Kildare's  brother 
was  already  in  open  revolt  and  had  seized  the  strongly  fortified 
castle  of  Carlow.*  The  Deputy  hastily  retraced  his  steps, 
abandoned  his  intended  expedition  against  O'Donnell,  and,  after 
recovering  with  difficulty  the  castle  of  Carlow,  he  summoned 
a  Parliament  to  meet  at  Drogheda.  It  met  on  the  first  of 
December,  1494,  and  under  the  Deputy's  influence  and  awed 
by  his  presence,  the  Earl  of  Kildare  was  attainted,  all  royal  grants 
of  land,  back  for  168  years,  were  revoked,  thus  reducing  the 
vast  majority  of  the  Anglo-Irish  to  a  state  of  entire  dependence 
on  the  Crown,  no  ordnance  or  great  guns  were  to  be  kept  in 
any  fortress  without  viceregal  licence,  Irish  war  crys,  such  as 
Crom  Aboo,  the  war  cry  of  the  Fitzgeralds,  or  Butler  Aboo, 
the  war  cry  of  the  Ormonds,  were  prohibited,  against  coyne 
and  livery  specially  severe  penalties  were  decreed  ;  and  the 
Statute  of  Kilkenny  was  confirmed  in  its  entirety,  except  that 
the  Irish  mode  of  riding  (without  saddles),  and  the  use  of  the 
Irish  language  were  no  longer  proscribed.!  From  this  latter 
it  appears  that,  instead  of  the  Irish  having  become  anglicised,  it 
was  the  English  who  had  fallen  under  Irish  influences,  so  much 
so  that  the  Irish  mode  of  riding  without  saddles  and  the  use  of 
the  Irish  tongue  were  general  within  the  Pale,  and  it  was  useless 
to  pass  enactments  against   them. 

But  the  most  important  enactment  of  this  Parliament  was 
that  which  became  afterwards  known  as  Poyning's  Law.  By 
this  Act  the  Parliament  of  Ireland  was  made  entirely  dependent 
on  that  of  England.  It  could  not  even  meet  without  a  licence 
under  the  great  Seal  of  England,  nor  could  it  initiate  any  legis- 
lation, for  its  statutes  should  be  previously  approved  by  the 
Viceroy  and  Irish  Privy  Council,  and  then  sanctioned  by  the 
King  and  Privy  Council  of  England. 1  Thus  did  this  Parliament, 
under  the  influence  and  terror  of  an  English-born  Viceroy, 
proclaim  and  enact  its  own  impotence,  voluntarily  renounce 
its  independence,  and,  in  a  spirit  of  subserviency  and  cowardice, 
accept  the  humiliating  position  of  a  legislature  without 
the  power  to  legislate.  It  was  a  slavish  enactment  made  by 
a  Parliament  of  slaves.  At  the  time,  its  injurious  effects  were 
not  felt,  for  the  Parliament  of  that  day  was  only  the  Parliament 
of  the  Pale,  nor  was  it  fully  representative  even  of  that  limited 
area.  It  often  fell  under  the  influence  of  some  powerful  Anglo- 
Irishman,  whose  power  held  it  in  awe,  who  filled  it  with  his 
adherents   and    had    its   enactments     passed   and   enforced,    not 

*   Viceroys,  pp.  450-1.      Cox,  p.    186. 
t  Ware's  Annals.        Cox,  pp.    187-9. 

:J:  Ibid.  The  Earls  of  Kildare,  Desmond  and  Ormond  were  all  absent 
from  this  Parliament.     (Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.   451.) 


IN   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY  VII.  363 

SO  much  for  the  good  of  the  State  as  to  advance  his  own  personal 
interests.  But  when  the  limits  of  the  Pale  were  enlarged, 
and  when  the  Parliament  became,  not  that  of  a  limited 
area  round  Dublin,  but  the  Parliament  of  the  whole  country 
and  representative  of  its  interests,  it  was  then  that  the  clogging 
and  paralysing  influence  of  Poyning's  Law  was  felt,  and  that 
its  injurious  effects  became  the  theme  of  eloquent  orators  and 
political  pamphleteers. 

Yet  these  enactments  effected  little.  The  natives  became 
troublesome  and  had  to  be  bought  ofi  and  sometimes  placated 
with  presents  from  the  Deputy.  Sir  James  Ormond  and  his 
soldiers  were  employed  by  the  government,  and  as  there  was 
no  money  to  pay  them,  coyne  and  livery  were  exacted,  but, 
worst  of  all,  the  second  of  the  English  pretenders  had  again 
appeared  in  Ireland  and  had  drawn  many  to  his  side.  By  his 
own  friends  he  was  known  as  Richard  of  York,  son  to  Edward  IV., 
who  had  been  imprisoned  in  the  Tower  of  London,  and  it  was 
thought  murdered  there  by  Richard  III.  The  pretender  in 
reality  was  one  Perkin  Warbeck,  a  native  of  Tournai.  The 
Duchess  of  Burgundy  aided  him  and  called  him  the  "  White 
Rose  Prince  of  England,"  and  when  he  landed  in  Munster  (1495), 
he  received  the  active  assistance  of  the  Earl  of  Desmond  and  of 
Water,  the  mayor  of  Cork.  But  though  the  pretender  and 
his  allies  laid  siege  to  Waterford,  they  failed  to  capture  that 
city,  and  lost  many  of  their  soldiers,  and  Warbeck  had  to  fly 
to  Scotland.  To  these  disorders  was  added  the  rebellion  of 
Kildare's  son.  In  revenge  for  the  treatment  of  his  father, 
he  assembled  an  army  and  attacked  the  English  (1496),*  nor 
was  Poynings  able  to  resist  him,  or  to  adequately  protect  the 
loyal   English    from   his   assaults. 

Disappointed  at  his  Deputy's  want  of  success,  Henry  had 
him  recalled  (1496),  and,  seeing  the  difficulty  of  governing  Ireland 
in  spite  of  the  Geraldines,  he  resolved  to  call  in  the  assistance 
•of  the  Earl  of  Kildare  and  try  if  he  could  not  be  weaned  from 
his  attachment  to  the  Yorkists.  After  being  attainted  at 
Drogheda,  he  was  pursued  and  harassed  by  the  forces  of 
the  government  and  ultimately  was  made  prisoner  (1495), 
and  sent  to  England  and  lodged  in  the  Tower  of  London.  He 
was  brought  to  trial  (1496),  before  the  King  and  his  Council, 
and  the  Bishop  of  Meath  acted  as  his  accuser.!  The  charges 
against  him  were  that  he  had  aided  the  King's  enemies,  that 
he  had  been  in  league  with  O'Hanlon  against  the  Deputy,  that 

*  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.  457-9.     Ware's  Annals. 

t  His  name  was  John  Payne,  and  he  it  was  who  had  crowned  Simne 
(1487),  in  Christchurch.  Kildare  and  he  were  then  close  personal  friends, 
"but   ten   years  later  they   were   bitter  enemies.     (Ware's   Bishops.) 


364  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

he  had  instigated  his  brother  to  take  the  King's  castle  at  Carlow, 
and  that  he  had  acted  in  collusion  with  the  King  of  Scotland 
and  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  both  of  whom  were  declared  enemies 
of  the  King.*  These  charges  were  not  substantiated,  for 
O'Hanlon  swore  that  he  had  no  connection  with  him  when 
the  Deputy  entered  his  territory,  and  as  to  the  charges  of  being 
in  league  with  the  Scotch  King  and  with  Desmond,  these  might 
furnish  matter  for  suspicion  but  were  incapable  of  proof.f  The 
impression  he  made  on  Henry  VII.  was  favourable,  and  when 
the  Bishop  of  Meath  declared  that  all  Ireland  could  not  rule 
the  Earl,  then,  said  Henry,  "  the  Earl  shall  rule  all  Ireland."  :|: 
While  in  England,  Kildare  had  married  for  his  second  wife 
Elizabeth  St.  John,  a  cousin  to  Henry  VI I.,  and  perhaps  this 
smoothed  the  way  for  pardon  and  power.  Whatever  was  the 
determining  cause,  he  was  appointed  Lord  Deputy  and  sent  back 
to  Ireland,  higher  than  ever  in  the  royal  favour,  though  the 
King,  with  his  usual  prudence,  had  kept  the  Earl's  son,  Gerald, 
in  London,  as  a  hostage  for  his  father's  good  conduct.  The 
friends  of  the  new  Deputy  were  rejoiced;  his  enemies,  and  above 
all  Sir  James  Ormond,  were  confounded,  Desmond  was  pardoned 
for  his  connection  with  Perkin  Warbeck,  and  when  that  pretender 
again  came  to  Ireland  (1497),  he  got  but  few  to  assist  him. 
Desmond  kept  aloof,  and  the  only  prominent  Irishman  to  identify 
himself  with  his  fortunes  was  Sir  James  Ormond,  no  doubt 
piqued  at  the  favour  shown  to  Kildare.  He  was  declared  an 
outlaw  and  soon  after  was  murdered  by  his  kinsman,  Sir  Piers 
Butler. II  If  Henry  had  any  lingering  doubts  as  to  Kildare's 
loyalty,  or  as  to  the  wisdom  of  arming  him  with  such  powers, 
these  doubts  must  have  been  soon  dispelled.  The  Deputy 
was  not  a  manfof  half-measures,  and  became  as  enthusiastic  in 
supporting  the  house  of  Tudor  as  he  was  formerly  in  opposing  it ; 
and  such  was  the  vigour  of  his  government  that  he  soon  repressed 

*  Gilbert's    Viceroys,  p.   454. 
t  Idzd.,  p.  460. 

I  Book  of  Howth  (Carevv  MSS.),"' 179-80.  Cox,  p.  191.  Gilbert's 
Viceroys,  pp.  460-1 .  The  author  of  the  Book  of  Howth  declares  that  Kildare 
was  but  an  innocent,  half-witted  man,  and  that  to  this  he  owed  his  ac- 
quittal. When,  for  instance,  he  was  charged  with  burning  the  church 
at  Cashel,  he  said  yes,  but  would  never  have  done  it,  but  he  thought  the 
Archbishop,  his  enemy,  was  inside;  when  he  was  told  to  select  a  counsellorj 
he  selected  the  King,  and  rudely  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  instead  of 
attending  to  his  defence  he  commenced  telling  stories  of  the  Bishop  of 
Meath,  which  set  the  whole  Council  laughing.  This  story  is  adopted 
and  evidently  believed  by  Cox,  yet  it  is  very  unlikely  that  Henry  Vll.  would 
appoint  a  fool  as  Lord  Deputy,  nor  did  Kildare  in  that  office  acquit  himself 
as  a  fool  would. 

II  Ware's  Annals. 


IN   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   VII.  365 

disorder  and  outrage  within  the  Pale.  He  had  enactments 
passed  and  enforced  that  Irish  usages  were  to  be  discontinued, 
that  the  King's  subjects  within  the  Pale  were  to  arm  and  dress 
in  the  English  fashion,  and  that  whoever  rode  a  horse  without  a 
saddle  was  to  forfeit  the  horse  so  ridden,  and  that  absentees 
were  to  be  fined  half  the  income  of  their  estates  for  the  defence 
of  the  Pale.*  So  pleased  was  Henry  with  the  loyalty  of  his  Deputy 
and  the  energy  and  success  of  his  government,  that  he  summoned 
him  to  London  (1503),  personally  thanked  him  for  all  he  had 
done,  and  appointed  his  son,  Gerald,  Lord  Treasurer  of  Ireland, 
had  him  married  to  an  English  nobleman's  daughter,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Lord  Zouch,  and,  loading  him  with  presents,  sent  him 
back  to  Ireland  with  his  father,  "  the  King's  cousin,  the  Earl  of 
Kildare."t 

While,  within  the  Pale,  a  period  of  turbulence  and  weakness 
was  followed  by  a  period  of  comparative  calm,  during  which 
something  like  settled  order  was  maintained  under  Kildare's 
vigorous  rule,  outside  of  the  Pale  the  old  order  of  discord  and 
turmoil  still  prevailed.  It  could  not  be  said  that  the  native  chiefs 
fought  more,  or  quarrelled  more,  than  did  their  ancestors,  but 
neither  could  it  be  said  that  they  quarrelled  less.  Compared  to 
the  north  and  west,  the  condition  of  Thomond  during  these 
years  was  one  of  peace,  but  the  peace  was  not  continuous.  The 
MacNamaras  had  some  wretched  squabble  (i486),  and 
"  Cumara  MacNamara  was  exultingly  slain  by  the  sons  of  Donogh 
MacNamara."  In  the  quarrels  between  the  Butlers,  the  O'Briens 
had  taken  part ;  two  MacMahons  wrestled  with  each  other  for 
the  chieftaincy  of  their  clan  (1497)  ;  and  to  increase  the  miseries 
that  accompanied  these  disputes  a  famine  decimated  the  land, 
and  so  dreadful  in  its  effects,  that  the  dead  were  left  unburied.  X 
In  Connaught  and  Ulster  the  wars  were  more  persistent  and 
more  general,  it  might  be  said  war  was  their  normal  condition. 
Sometimes  the  war  was  between  two  neighbouring  chiefs,  each 
perhaps  anxious  to  humiliate  the  other,  or,  perhaps,  to  avenge 
some  fancied  wrong,  but  the  more  common  form  of  strife  and 
the  most  disastrous  for  the  people  were  those  which  arose  from 
the  strivings  of  ambitious  chiefs,  contending  for  the  headship  of 
their  clan.  The  number  of  these  clans  was  large,  they  seemed 
to  increase  rather  than  diminish  with  time,  there  was  no  settled 
order  of  succession,  force  alone  was  the  determining  factor,  the 
ambition  to  rule  was  rarely  wanting  in  more  than  one  member 
of  a  chieftain's   family  ;   and  j^ whenever   the  chieftain  died,   his 

*  Gilbert's  Viceroys ^  pp.  46^-6. 
;  t  Ibid.-,  p.  467. 
X  Four  Masters.     White's  History  of  Clare,  p.   151. 


2,66  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

place  was  contended  for  by  angry,  and  often  ferocious,  disputants. 
So  fruitful  a  source  of  strife  was  this  that  the  Four  Masters  record, 
at  1488,  that  in  Oriel  two  MacMahons  were  fighting,  two 
MacDonoghs  in  Tirerill,  two  O'Connors  and  two  O'Neills,*  and, 
in  the  next  year,  two  O'Farrells,  were  contending  for  the  petty 
chieftaincy  of  Annally.  Both  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen  were 
ruled  by  able  and  restless  chiefs  who  often  fought,  for  the  old 
rivalry  still  continued  in  all  its  bitterness.  In  1490,  the  O'Neills 
and  O'Donnells  were  at  war  ;  in  the  next  year  the  quarrel  was 
renewed  ;  they  were  again  at  war  (1497)  ;  and  the  last  year 
of  the  dying  century  saw  the  quarrel  resumed.f  During  these 
years,  that  same  O'Donnell  was  at  war  with  Maguire  (1490), 
with  O'Connor  Roe  (1495),  and  two  years  later,  he  sought  to 
chastise  MacDermott  of  Moylurg.  It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that 
the  O'Connors  quarrelled,  as  they  never  agreed.  The  Burkes 
had  now  become  as  quarrelsome  and  were  far  more  powerful, 
and  such  were  the  miseries  they  caused  that  the  Annals  record 
that  Burke  invaded  the  territory  of  O'Connor  Roe  (1495),  and 
that  he  destroyed  everything  that  O'Donnell  in  that  year  had 
not  destroyed.  The  jackal  had  followed  in  the  lion's  path. 
Famine  and  pestilence  followed  in  the  track  of  war,  and  the 
people  ate  "  such  food  as  was  not  fit  to  be  mentioned  or  was 
never  served  on  dishes  for  human  food. J  So  disgusted  was  one 
of  the  O'Donnell  chiefs  at  the  quarrels  of  his  sons  that  he  resigned 
the  headship  of  the  clan  (1497),  but  the  rebuke  was  forgotten, 
and  four  years  later  they  were  again  at  war.  In  the  next  year 
(1502)  there  was  war  between  Burke  of  Clanrickard  and  O'Kelly 
of  Hy-Many. 

In  many  of  these  quarrels  Kildare  interfered.  Since  1496, 
when  he  was  last  appointed  Deputy,  he  was  enthusiastically 
loyal  to  Henry  VII.,  but  he  was  loyal  on  his  own  terms  and  in 
his  own  peculiar  way,  for  while  he  strove  to  anglicise  the  Pale 
and  prohibited  Irish  habits  and  customs,  he  was  more  than  half 
Irish  himself.  He  spoke  Irish,  levied  coyne  and  livery,  practised 
fosterage,  and  his  alliance  by  marriage  with  the  Irish  chiefs 
were  many.  Like  many  others  of  the  Anglo-Irish,  if  he  had 
something  in  common  with  the  English,  he  had  much  more  in 
common  with  the  Irish  ;  and  if  he  interfered  in  the  disputes 
that  arose  it  was  because  he  felt  as  an  Irish  chief  himself,  with 

*  And  two  O'Rourkes,  two  MacDermots  and  two  O'Haras  {Four 
Masters  at  1488.) 

t  Four  Masters.  It  was  during  these  years  that  O'Neill  claimed  rent 
from  O'Donnell,  being,  as  he  thought,  his  superior,  and  the  demand  and 

the  reply  are  equally  laconic.      "  Send  me  my  rent  (said  O'Neill)  or  else " 

"  I  owe  none  (said  O'Donnell),  and  if  I  did ".      Leland,  Vol.  II.,  p.  91. 

X  Ibid.,   1497.     O'Coitors  of  Connaught,  p.   170. 


IN   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   VII.  -i^^J 

the  same  quickness  to  take  offence  and  the  same  talent  for  war, 
because  sometimes  his  personal  interests  were  concerned,  and 
because,  perhaps,  in  his  zeal  for  his  royal  master,  he  desired  to 
use  these  disputes  for  the  weakening  of  Irish  and  for  the  extension 
of  English  power.  Acting  on  behalf  and  probably  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  O'Connor  Don,  he  marched  into  Connaught  (1499), 
defeated  O' Kelly  of  HyMany,  from  whom  he  took  the  castle  of 
Athleague,  then  turned  against  O'Connor  Roe,  from  whom  he 
took  the  castles  of  Tulsk,  Roscommon  and  Castlerea,  took  hostages 
from  these  chiefs  and  then,  handing  over  hostages  and  castles 
to  O'Connor  Don,  he  marched  back  to  Dublin.*  A  little  before 
this  he  had  unsuccessfully  attacked  the  O'Briens  of  Thomond, 
and  a  few  years  later  (1503),  he  led  an  army  into  Antrim  and 
destroyed  the  castle  of  Belfast. f 

In  the  following  year,  he  led  an  expedition  into  Con- 
naught  and  fought  one  of  the  most  remarkable  battles  in 
Irish  history.  Burke  of  Clanrickard  had  quarrelled  with 
his  neighbour,  O' Kelly  of  Hy-Many,  had  entered  his  territory 
and  taken  possession  of  his  castles  of  Monivea,  Garbally  and 
Castleblakeny,  and  O' Kelly,  unable  to  resist  him,  appealed  for 
assistance  to  Kildare.  About  the  same  time  Burke  had  attacked 
and  captured  the  town  of  Galway,  a  violation  of  the  charter 
given  to  that  town  by  which  the  Burkes  were  specifically 
prohibited  from  entering  there  without  the  leave  of  the  munici- 
pality.! This  latter  act  afforded  a  good  pretext  to  the  Deputy 
to  listen  to  O'Kelly's  appeal,  and  he  was  the  more  willing  to  attack 
Burke  as  his  daughter  was  married  to  that  nobleman  and  had 
been  treated  ill.||  But  Burke  was  a  formidable  foe  with  great 
resources  at  his  command,  and  his  strength  was  augmented  by 
the  aid  of  O'Brien  of  Thomond,  MacNamara  and  O'Carroll  of 
Ely.  To  beat  down  this  combination  Kildare  mustered  the  whole 
strength  of  the  Pale,  and  besides,  procured  the  assistance  of 
O'Connor  Roe,  MacDermott  and  the  Burkes  of  Mayo  from 
Connaught,  of  Magennis,  MacMahon,  O'Hanlon  and  O'Reilly 
from  the  north,  of  O'Farrel  of  Annally,  O'Reilly  of  Cavan,  and 
O'Connor  of  OfTaly,  but,  most  important  of  all,  of  O'Donneli  of 
Tirconnell.*  *  With  this  latter  chief  he  had  been  sometimes. at  war, 
but  recently  he  had  sent  one  of  his  sons  to  be  fostered  in  Tirconnell, 
and  to  this,  perhaps,  may  be  due  their  present  alliance.  It  may 
also  explain  the  absence  of  Kildare's  kinsman,  O'Neill,  who  would 

*  O' Conors  of  Connaught,  p.  170. 
t  Ware's  Annals. 

X  Hardiman's  History  of  Galway,  p.   69.     The   Charter  granted    by 
Richard  ill.  bears  date,   15th  December,   1484. 
II  Leland's  History,  Vol.  II. j  p.   116. 
**  Four  Masters. 


368  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

be  reluctant  to  fight  side  by  side  with  his  old  antagonist  of 
Tirconnell,  and,  it  may  be,  felt  piqued  at  the  friendship  shown 
him  by  Kildare.  The  numbers  who  fought  on  each  side  have 
not  been  ascertained,  but  the  advantage  of  arms  and  armour 
was  on  the  side  of  the  Deputy,*  for  the  main  reliance  of  the 
other  side  was  in  the  battle-axe.t  Kildare  and  his  allies  marched 
towards  Galway,  but  Burke  had  retired  north-west,  and  at  a 
place  but  three  or  four  miles  from  one  of  his  casties  at  Clare- 
Gal  way,  he  took  up  a  position  on  the  low  hill  of  Knockdoe.  The 
Book  of  Hoivth%  gives,  with  tedious  minuteness,  the  debates  and 
discourses  in  Kildare's  camp  previous  to  the  battle,  in  which  the 
ecclesiastics  and  learned  men  who  accompanied  the  army  are 
spoken  of  with  contempt.  O'Connor  of  Offaly  declared  that 
he  never  saw  those  who  were  learned  give  good  counsel  in  matters 
of  war,  and  that  what  would  be  decided  in  the  coming  fight  was 
\o  be  decided  by  valiant  and  stout  stomachs  of  prudent  and  wise 
men  of  war  practised  in  the  same  faculty,  and  not  by  men 
practised  in  matters  of  law  nor  matters  of  religion.  And  if  he 
spoke  these  words,  he  spoke  the  truth,  for  in  most  wars  both 
justice  and  refigion  are  ignored  and  those  who  fight  think  little 
of  either.  After  a  hard  fought  struggle,  which  lasted  the  entire 
day,  the  Deputy  was  the  victor.  His  loss  was  considerable,! |  but 
the  loss  of  his  opponents  was  greater,  being  at  least  2000  men. 
The  victors  encamped  for  the  night  on  the  field  which  they  had 
won,  then  marched  to  Galway,  captured  the  town,  also  captured 
Athenry,  took  two  sons  and  a  daughter  of  Burke  as  prisoners, 
and   then  Kildare  regaled  his  troops  with  30  tuns  of  wine.** 

To  make  alliances  with  Irish  chiefs,  and,  above  all,  to  make 
war  in  a  private  quarrel  without  the  express  leave  of  the  King 
was  contrary  to  many  enactments  and  ought  therefore  be 
condemned  by  Henry  VH.,  and  doubtless  it  would  if  Kildare 
had  failed.  But  he  had  succeeded,  and  flushed  with  victory  he 
sent  a  glowing  account  to  London,  that  his  majesty's  enemies 
were  destroyed.      Nothing  suited  Henry's  plans  better  than  to 

*  They  had  firearms  and  probably  cannon^  as  some  musket  balls  and 
a  cannon  ball  were  found  in  later  times  on  the  battle-field.  {Four  M asters ^ 
O'Donovan's  Note.) 

■j-  Gilbert's  Viceroys,  p.  469.  The  name  of  the  battlefield  signifies  "  the 
hill  of  the  axes." 

X  pp.  181-185. 

II  Ware's  Annals.  The  Book  of  Howtk  gives  Burke's  loss  at  9,000j 
Ware's  estimate  is  2,000.  Cox  (p.  197),  quoting  from  the  While  Book 
of  the  Exchequer,  says  not  one  Englishman  was  killed.  The  veracity  of 
that  White  Book  is  on  a  par  with  that  of  the  Book  of  Howth. 

**  Cox,  p.  197.  The  Book  of  Howth  says  that  Lord  Gormanstown  after 
the  battle  suggested  that,  having  killed  most  of  the  Irish  opposed  to  them, 
they  should  now  cut  the  throats  of  the  Irish  on  their  own  side. 


IN   THE   REIGN    OF   HENRY   VII.  369 

see  the  Irish  fighting  among  themselves.  It  meant  a  weakening 
of  their  strength,  and  would  make  the  task  of  subduing  the 
whole  country  all  the  easier.  And  instead  of  being  displeased 
with  Kildare  he  highly  extolled  him,  invested  him  with  the 
Order  of  the  Garter  and  continued  him  in  the  ofBce  of  Deputy 
for  the  remainder  of  his  reign.*  For  similar  reasons  he  must 
have  been  well  pleased  that  the  O'Neills  and  O'Donnells  renewed 
their  quarrels  (1507),  that  MacMahon  and  Maguire  were  at  war 
(1508),  and  that  in  the  same  year  the  MacCarthys  in  the  South 
were  similarly  engaged. | 

*  Gilbert's   Viceroys,  p.  472. 
t  Fozir  Masters. 


2B 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

The  Geraldines. 

Henry  VIII  and  Ireland — Kildare  continued  as  Deputy — His  war  with 
O'Brien  and  Burke — Battle  of  Monabrahir — Kildare's  last  years  and 
death — His  son  Gerald— The  new  Earl  appointed  Deputy — His 
difficulties — Accused  and  went  to  England — Re-appointed  Deputy — 
His  enemies  in  Ireland — Lord  Surrey  appointed  Viceroy — Submission 
of  the  native  chiefs — His  plan  for  the  subjugation  of  the  country — 
Leaves  for  England— Earl  of  Ormond  appointed  Deputy — Kildare 
in  England — Returns  to  Ireland — His  quarrels  with  Ormond — Royal 
Commission  appointed — Ormond  dismissed — Succeeded  by  Kildare — 
His  troubles — Wars  between  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell — The  Earl  of 
Desmond — Kildare  summoned  to  London  and  tried  on  various  charges; 
His  encounter  with  Wolsey — Ormond  made  Earl  of  Ossory,  and 
appointed  Lord  Deputy — Sir  William  Skeffington  Viceroy — Kildare 
returns  to  Ireland — O'Donnell  and  the  Connaught  chiefs — Kildare 
again  Deputy — Has  quarrels  with  Ossory — Summoned  to  London 
on  various  charges. 

In  the  early  years  of  his  reign,  Henry  VIII.  paid  little  attention 
to  Ireland.  Voung,  handsome,  accomplished,  skilled  in  martial 
exercises,  he  passed  much  of  his  time  in  the  midst  of  balls  and 
revels  and  court  pageants,*  and  in  such  amusements  spent  with 
a  piodigal  hand  a  large  part  of  these  treasures  which  had  been 
laboriously  and  patiently  collected  by  his  father's  avarice.  His 
grandmother,  the  Countess  of  Richmond,  still  lived,  and  the 
sensible  advice  she  gave  him  was  to  retain  in  his  service  thase 
ministers  who  had  been  tried  and  trusted  in  the  preceding  reign. 
Henry  had  the  good  sense  to  accept  the  advice  and  act  upon  it, 
and,  in  the  same  spirit  and  acting  under  these  minister's  directions, 
he  continued  Kildare  in  his  ol^ce  of  Lord  Deputy  and  he  invited 
him  to  London,  so  that  he  might  consult  with  him  on  Irish 
affairs.  But  Kildare  was  reluctant  to  go,  and  at  his  suggestion 
the  Irish  Council  requested  of  the  King  that  he  be  excused  from 
going.  The  Earls  of  Desmond  and  Ormond  sent  a  joint  letter 
to  England  urging  the  same,  declaring  that  they  were  themselves 
at  enmity  with  the  Lord  Burke  of  Connaught  and  that  their 

*  Lingardji  Vol.  iv.,  p.  170. 


THE   GERALDINES.  37 1 

hope  was  that  the  Deputy  would  make  peace  between  them.* 
These  two  noblemen,  perhaps,  wrote  what  they  believed,  but 
Kildare's  talents  and  dispositions  were  not  for  peace,  and,  relieved 
from  the  necessity  of  going  to  England,  he  soon  proceeded  to 
make  war.  With  all  the  forces  of  the  Pale  he  marched  into  South 
Munster,  captured  the  castles  of  DuhaJlow  and  Kanturk  (in  Cork) 
and  two  other  castles  (in  Kerry),  then  marching  north  to 
Limerick  he  was  joined  by  MacCarthy  and  the  Earl  of  Desmond 
and  with  him  also  was  O'Donnell  of  Tirconnell.  The  Deputy, 
it  seems,  expected  that  he  would  finish  the  work  begun  at 
Knockdoe,  that  O'Brien  of  Thomond  would  be  crushed  and  then 
the  subjugation  of  Burke  of  Clanrickard  would  be  an  easy  matter. 
Marching  on  Limerick  that  city  was  soon  captured|  and  from 
this,  as  his  headquarters,  he  advanced  as  far  as  Castleconnell, 
where  a  bridge  across  the  Shannon  connected  East  and  West 
Thomond.  He  broke  down  the  bridge  so  as  to  prevent  the 
whole  forces  of  Thomond  from  acting  together.  O'Brien  mean- 
while was  not  idle.  He  had  got  together  the  Dalcassian  clans, 
Burke  of  Clanrickard  was  also  with  him  with  all  his  forces,  and 
these  chiefs  were  eager  to  avenge  the  disaster  at  Knockdoe 
Their  army  was  encamped  on  the  Clare  side  of  the  Shannon, not  far 
from  Castleconnell,  and  when  the  bridge  was  broken  down  they 
advanced  further  down  the  river,  which  they  forded,  and  made  pre- 
parations for  attacking  the  enemy.  Miscalculating  the  strength 
and  vigour  of  his  foes,  Kildare,  instead  of  fighting,  commenced  to 
retreat  towards  Limerick,  but  was  followed  up  by  O'Brien  and 
at  Monabrahir,  near  Limerick,  the  battle  was  fought.  It  lasted 
throughout  the  day,  and  Kildare  and  his  allies  were  defeated  with 
great  loss  ;  they  were  hotly  pursued  on  their  retreat  and  were 
saved  from  extinction  only  by  the  skill  with  which  O'Donnell 
and  his  troops  defended  the  rear  of  the  army.  The  Deputy 
made  his  way  back  to  Dublin  as  best  he  could,  and  did  not  again 
attempt  the  conquest  of  Thomond,  or  the  subjugation  of  O'Brien's 
allies.;;:  Two  years  later,  Kildare  was  again  active,  and  entering 
Connaught  he  captured  the  Castle  of  Roscommon,  which  he 
garrisoned  in  the  name  of  the  King.  That  same  year  he  went 
north,  devastated  the  lands  of  the  MacDonnells  of  Antrim  and 
captured  the  castle  of  Belfast, ||  and  in  the  following  year  he  again 
went  south,  laying  waste  much  of  South  Munster.  The  territory 
of  O'Carroll  of  Ely  he  treated  similarly,  though  O'Carroll's  strong 
castle  of  Leap  defied  all  his  efforts,  and,  mortified  at  his  failure  to 


*  Calendar  of  State  Papers  (1509-73).      (Hamilton),  p.  i. 
t  Ware's    Annals.     Four    Masters,     15 10. 
X  White's  History  of  Clare,  pp.  164-5. 
II  Four  Masters.     Ware's  Annals. 


372  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

capture  it,  he  was  returning  to  Dublin  (15  13),  when  he  fell  ill 
on  his  march  and  died  at  Athy.* 

The  Irish  Privy  Council  selected  the  young  Earl  of  Kildare, 
son  to  the  deceased  Earl/as  Deputy,  and  the  appointment  was 
in  a  short  time  sanctioned  by  Letters  Patent  from  the  King. 
Like  his  father,  the  new  Deputy  was  a  man  of  energetic  and 
warlike  character,  and  the  year  after  his  appointment  he  inarched 
into  Breffni,  laid  that  territory  waste,  and  killed  its  chief  O'Reilly ,j 
then  he  turned  his  arms  against  O'Toole  of  Wicklow,  whom  he 
defeated.  Finally,  marching  into  Ely  O'Carroll  and  in  alliance 
with  Sir  Piers  Butler,  he  attacked  O'Carroll,  laid  his  country 
waste  and  with  heavy  guns  which  he  had  brought  from  Dublin 
he  captured  the  castle  of  Leap,  which  his  father  had  formerly 
besieged  in  vain.  |  These  energetic  proceedings  indicated  that 
Kildare  was  zealous  in  the  cause  of  the  English  King,  for  in 
crushing  the  Irish  chiefs  he  was  interpreting  accurately  the  royal 
will.  Yet  the  condition  of  English  power  was  feeble,  and  the 
Archbishop  of  Armagh,  writing  to  his  friend  Wolse}.^  the  Bishop 
of  Lincoln,  described  the  perilous  position  of  the  Pale.  And 
to  increase  the  Deputy's  embarrassment  and  lessen,  if  not  destroy 
his  influence  with  the  King,  his  stepmother,  the  Dowager 
Countess  of  Kildare,  complained||  that  Kildare  was  partial  to 
the  great  O'Neill  and  had  voted  him  a  tribute  out  of  her  lands, 
that  he  had  allowed  some  of  the  lands  of  her  sons  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  wild  Irish,  and  that  the  lands  of  Kilbride,  belonging 
to  her  ward,  one  Rochefort,  were  made  waste  by  oppression  of 
coyne  and  livery. 

To  answer  these  and  perhaps  other  charges  made  against  him, 
Kildare  proceeded  to  England  (i  5 1 5),  and  seems  to  have  triumphed 
over  his  accusers,  as  he  came  back  continued  in  his  office  of  Lord 
Deputy.  His  enemies  were  discomfited,  but  their  discomfiture 
was  not  final  nor  complete.  The  place-hunter  whose  expectations 
had  not  been  fulfilled,  the  adventurer  whose  greed  had  been 
restrained,  the  lawless  whose  turbulence  had  been  repressed 
and  whose  offences  had  been  punished,  the  arrogant  whose  pride 
had  been  humbled  and  whose  vanity  had  been  hurt — all  these 
regarded  Kildare's  power  with  jealousy,  and,  convinced  that  they 
had  a  grievance  against  himself  or  his  father,  watched  for  an 
opportunity  to  do  him  harm.  Their  ranks  were  increased  by 
an  important  and  powerful  recruit  in  the  person  of  Sir  Piers 
Butler,  now  Earl  of  Ormond.    He  was  married  to  Kildare's  sister 

*  Ware's  Annals    Four  Masters,  at  15 14,  it  should  be  15 13. 
•j-  Ibid.,   1 5 14. 

X  Ibid.,   1 5 16.     Four  Masters. 

II  Hamilton's  Calendar,  p.  2.  The  Archbishop's  letter  was  written 
jn  1 5 14,  that  of  the  Countess,  early  in  15 16. 


THE   GERALDINES.  T,- ;^ 

hitherto  they  had  been  on  friendly  terms,  and  in  the  war  against 
O'Carroll  they  fought  side  by  side.      But  that  was  in  the  days 
when  he  was  Sir  Piers   Butler  ;    the  seventh   Earl  of  Ormond 
had  died  in  London  (15  15),  Sir  Piers,  as  the  next  male  heir,  was 
entitled  to  the  Earldom  and  its  vast  estates,  and  in  possession  of 
such  honours  and  wealth  he  was  lifted  to  an  equality  with  his 
brother-in-law    and    resented    his    assumption    of     superiority. 
Perhaps  also  in   the  settlement  of  the  Ormond  estates,   which 
had  been  referred  by  the  King  to  his  Deputy  and  carried  out  by 
him,    the   new    Earl   of    Ormond*    felt    aggrieved,    and    in    his 
consequent  enmity  to  Kildare  he  was  incited  by  his  ambitious 
wife.      Clever,  restless,  overbearing,  with  the  strong  will  of  the 
Geraldines,  she  was  zealous  in  her  own  impetuous  fashion  for 
the  advancement  of  Ormond's   influence  and   power,   ready  to 
spare  no  effort  and  use  every  means  to  attain  her  ends,  and  had 
no  objection,  if  it  were  necessary,  that  Ormond  should  rise  even 
on  the  ruins  of  Kildare.       Her  husband  she  found  a  suitable 
medium  for  her  purpose.     His  character  was  in  striking  contrast 
to  that  of  the  Lord  Deputy,  for  while  Kildare  was  open,  blunt, 
outspoken,  with  the  warrior's  plainness  of  speech,  Ormond,  on 
the  contrary,  was  underhand,  subtle  and  intriguing,  not  destitute 
of  courage,  but  with  talents  rather  for  diplomacy  than  for  war. 
He  was  able  to  ingratiate  himself  with  Wolsey,  the  all-powerful 
minister  of  Henry  VHL,  and  to  poison  his  mind  against  Kildare. 
The  ground  being  thus  prepared,  the  Deputy  was  charged  that 
he  was  in  secret  league  with  the  Irish,  that  he  was  enriching 
himself  with  the  revenues  of  the  Crown  and  that  he  was  guilty 
of    "seditious  practices,  conspiracies  and  subtle  drifts."  7     A  new 
Viceroy  was  sent  to  Ireland  (1520),  in  the  person  of  the  Earl  of 
Surrey,  Kildare  was  dismissed  from  ofifice,  and  had  to  hasten  to 
England  to  defend  himself  against  the  offences  laid  to  his  charge. 
The  new  Viceroy  was  son  to  that  Earl  of  Surrey  who    had 
fought  and  won  the  battle  of  Flodden  ;    he  himself  had  been 
with  his  father  in  the  battle  and  contributed  his  share  to  the 
victory  gained ;  j  and  he    was   not    long  in    Ireland   until    he 
exhibited  that  energy  and  skill  which  he  had  displayed  on  the 
field  of  Flodden.      The  northern  boundary  of  the  Pale  lay  near 

*  He  was  not  recognised  formally  as  Earl  by  the  King  until  1522,  when 
he  was  appointed  Deputy,  and  as  late  as  1520  is  called  rSir  Piers  Butler 
by  Henry  VIII.,  but  he  was  the  heir  to  the  vacant  Earldom,  and  must,  at 
least  by  courtesy,  have  received  the  title.  {State  Papers — Henry  VIII. ^ 
Vol.  II.,  pp.  34-39-) 

t  State  Papers  (Henry  VIII.),  Vol.  II.,  pp.  32-3. 

+  Lingard,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  18 1-2.  He  was  then  Lord  Thomas  Howard — 
his  father  was  created  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  he  received  the  father's  former 
title  of  Earl  of  Surrey. 


374  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

the  lands  of  O'Neill  and  MacMahon  and  was  harassed  by  their 
incessant  attacks  and  these  two  chiefs  were  the  first  whom  he 
assailed.  MacMahon's  district  of  Oriel  he  soon  laid  waste  and 
compelled  its  chief  to  submit,  but  Con  O'Neill,  thinking  it  more 
prudent  not  to  meet  him  in  the  open  and  stake  all  on  a  single 
battle,  retired  into  the  mountains  and  woods  of  his  province 
whither  the  Viceroy  was  unable  to  follow,  and,  disappointed  at 
his  failure,  he  returned  to  Dublin.  Before  the  year  had  expired, 
and  while  he  was  meditating  an  attack  on  O'Neill,  that  chieftain 
came  to  Dublin  voluntarily  and  formally  submitted  to  him  and 
to  the  English  king.  He  made  the  most  ample  professions  of 
good  behaviour  for  the  future  and  when  Henry  was  informed 
of  this  he  was  so  pleased  that  he  sent  O'Neill  a  collar  of  gold.* 
O'Donnell  also  had  in  the  meantime  come  to  Dublin,  was  even 
more  profuse  in  his  professions  of  loyalty  to  England  and  in  the 
true  spirit  of  an  Irish  chief,  anxious  above  all  to  injure  a  rival, 
he  secretly  informed  the  Viceroy  that  O'Neill  had  urged  him  to 
make  war  on  the  English  and  that  he  had  given  that  advice, 
acting  under  the  influence  and  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Earl  of 
Kildare.f  Satisfied  with  the  turn  affairs  had  taken  in  Ulster, 
Surrey  then  turned  his  attention  south  and  entered  and  laid 
waste  the  districts  of  O'More  of  Leix,  O'Carroll  of  Ely,  and 
O'Connor  of  Offaly.  Combined,  these  chieftains  might  have 
offered  a  stout  resistance,  but  they  did  not  combine,  and  fighting 
separately  their  resistance  was  futile  and  they  had  no  alternative 
but  to  submit. i  The  last  of  these  chiefs  to  submit  was  MacCarthy 
of  Carbery,  who  made  a  favourable  impression  on  the  Viceroy, 
and  whose  good  sense  and  intelligence  and  evident  sincerity  he 
highly  extolled  in  his  letter  to  Wolsey.  ij  But  Surrey  was  not 
deceived  by  these  submissions  and  had  little  faith  in  their 
permanence.  He  knew  they  were  extorted  by  necessity  and 
that  these  chiefs,  tenacious  of  their  independence,  would  continue 
to  be  submissive  only  as  long  as  they  were  awed  by  superior 
force.  He  knew  that  these  submissions  were  very  different 
from  conquest,  he  was  convinced  that  the  conquest  of  the  country 
was  necessary,  if  England  wished  to  establish  her  power  effectively, 
but  he  knew  that  to  crush  all  these  chiefs  would  be  no  easy  matter, 
and  he  proposed  that  6,000  men  be  sent  from  England  and  that 
the  various  chiefs  be  simultaneously  attacked**.   His  proposals 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.   56. 

t  Ibid.,  p.   37. 

X  Ibid.,  p.  36. 

II  Ibid.,  p.   57. 

**  Ibid.,  pp.  72-75.  (Letter  from  Surrey  to  Henry  VIII.)  When  so 
attacked  he  thinks  the  Irish  would  suspend  their  own  quarrels  and,  besides 
would  be  aided  by  three  or  four  thousand  "  Irish  Scots.'' 


THE  GERALDINES.  375 

were  sent  to  England  but  were  not  adopted  ;  the  money  he 
had  asked  for  the  expenses  of  the  Irish  government  was  not 
even  sent  ;*  the  native  chiefs  became  again  restive  ;  Ormond 
and  Desmond,  who  had  often  quarrelled  and  whom  he  had 
with  dif^culty  reconciled,  were  again  quarrelling ;  and 
MacCarthy  and  Desmond  had  gone  to  war  and  a  battle  had  been 
fought  between  them,  at  Mourne  Abbey,  in  Cork,  where  Desmond 
was  defeated  and  i,ooo  of  his  army  slain.f  Discouraged  and 
disappointed  at  these  events,  sick  in  body  and  in  mind,  Surrey 
begged  to  be  recalled  from  Ireland,  and  at  length  (1521),  his 
request  was  complied  with,  and  he  left  for  England,  appointing 
the  Earl  of  Ormond  as  Lord  Deputy. 

By  this  time  Kildare  was  more  than  two  years  in  England. 
The  charges  against  him  were  referred  to  Cardinal  VVolsey  ;  the 
Cardinal  was  prejudiced  against  him  i  and  this  prejudice  had 
been  intensified  by  fresh  charges  and  reports  made  both  by 
Ormond  and  Surrey.  ||  But  it  is  easier  to  make  charges  than  to 
prove  them,  and  the  charges  against  Kildare  had  not  been  proved 
true,  and  Wolsey  was  too  great  a  man  to  be  guided  altogether 
by  prejudice,  or  to  confound  certainty  with  mere  suspicion.  He 
did  not — he  could  not,  consistently  with  justice — condemn  the 
late  Deputy,  nor  did  he  commit  him  to  prison,  but  he  was 
prevented  from  going  to  Ireland,  as  it  was  thought  that  his 
influence  there  would  not  be  in  the  direction  of  peace,  nor  would 
he  be  likely  to  assist  a  Viceroy  who  took  so  many  of  his  inspirations 
from  Ormond.  But  there  was  no  other  restraint  imposed  upon 
him.  He  mixed  in  society,  he  attended  at  Court  and  was  among 
the  King's  retinue  at  that  famous  meeting  with  the  French 
King  on  the  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold.*  *  About  that  date  Kildare 
married  his  second  wife.  Lady  Elizabeth  Grey,  a  relative  of  the 
King.  This  alliance  gave  him  powerful  friends.  He  became  a 
man  of  power  and  influence  at  Court,  a  man  whom  it  would  be 
unsafe  to  attack.  His  accusers  ceased  to  accuse,  slander  and 
malignity  held  their  tongues,  there  were  no  more  charges,  or 
even  insinuations  against  him,  and  he  was  allowed,  without  let 
or  hindrance,  to  go  back  to  Ireland  (1523). 

He  soon  commenced  to  quarrel  with  Ormond,  and  he  had 
many  reasons  to  complain  of  his  conduct.  Ormond  had  used 
his   power   as   Deputy   with   harshness   and   severity,   and     had 

*  State  Papers,  p.  90.  Henry  vill.  thought  that  to  send  such  moneys 
would   be  "  frustration  and   consumption  of  treasure  in  vain." 

f  Meehan's  Geraldines,  pp.  48-9.     Ware's  Annals. 

\  Campion's  History,  p.   162.     Cox,  p.  209. 

II  State  Papers,  p.  45.  He  went  to  great  lengths  to  get  O'CarroU  give 
evidence  against  Kildare. 

**   Cox,  p.  210. 


2,'j6  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

especially  harassed  all  those  who  were  known  to  be  friendly  to 
Kildare.  Contrary  to  so  many  enactments,  he  had  exacted 
coyne  and  livery  within  the  Pale  itself  and  from  the  King's 
subjects.  He  had  so  irritated  the  neighbouring  chiefs  that  his 
oppressions  could  hardly  be  borne,  and  Magillapatrick  of  Ossory 
had  sent  a  special  envoy  to  Henry  VHI.  to  solemnly  warn  him, 
that  if  he  did  not  chastise  his  Deputy,  he  himself  would  declare 
war  against  the  King.  The  solemn  manner  and  lofty  tone 
assumed  by  the  envoy  of  a  petty  chief  has  excited  the  ridicule  of 
historians,  but  such  an  embassy  shows  that  under  Ormond's 
vexatious  rule  the  limits  of  endurance  had  been  passed.* 
Kildare  was  not  slow  to  send  all  the  charges  he  could  make  against 
his  rival  to  England  ;  his  rival  retorted  ;  there  were  charges 
and  countercharges  ;  and  at  length  a  Royal  Commission  was 
appointed  by  the  English  Privy  Council  to  proceed  to  Ireland 
and  examine  into  these  charges  on  the  spot.f  They  did  so,  and 
either  the  justice  of  Kildare's  cause  or  the  influence  of  his  friends 
prevailed.  Ormond  was  dismissed  from  office  (1524)  and,  to 
deepen  his  humiliation,  Kildare  was  appointed  in  his  place. J 

On  resuming  the  office  of  Lord  Deputy,  after  an  interval  of 
more  than  four  years,  the  outlook  before  him  was  not  promising. 
Ormond,  humiliated,  degraded  and  embittered,  was  not  disposed 
to  make  the  way  of  government  easy  for  his  successful  rival, 
but  instead  was  much  more  likely  to  throw  every  obstacle  in 
his  path  and  to  use  any  mistakes  he  might  make  for  his  ultimate 
ruin.  The  chiefs  nearing  the  Pale— O' More,  O'Connor  and 
O'Carroll — who  had  submitted  to  Surrey  through  necessity  and 
with  reluctance,  were  not  disposed  to  be  equally  compliant  with 
Kildare  ;  and  as  he  was  related  by  blood  to  the  two  latter  they 
might  hope  with  some  reason,  that  any  violation  of  their  promise 
to  Surrey  might  be  easily  condoned.  The  Earl  of  Desmond 
was  master  of  great  resources.  He  was  little  more  than  nominally 
a  subject  of  England,  considered  himself  an  independent  prince 
and,  in  the  manner  of  such,  corresponded  with  continental 
monarchs.  But  from  nobody  did  the  Deputy  experience  more 
trouble  than  from  the  rulers  of  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen. 

O'Donnell  had  gone  to  Rome  (15 12)  on  a  pilgrimage,  but  no 
sooner  had  he  returned  than  he  discarded  the  pilgrim's  staff  for 
the  sword  and  that  same  year  he  was  at  war  with  his  neighbour, 

*  Leland,  Vol.  II.,  p.  133.  The  envoy  met  the  King,  as  he  was  going 
to  his  devotions.  "  Sta  pedibus  (he  said).  Domine  Rex,  Dominus  meus 
me  misit  ad  te  et  jussit  dicere  quod  si  non  vis  castigare  Petrum  Rufum 
(Piers  Butler),  ipse  faciet  helium  contra  te." 

f  State  Papers,  p.  105.  The  Commissioners  arrived  in  Ireland  about 
midsummer,  1524. 

\  Ibid.,  p.    115;     Kildare  was  appointed,  in  August,  1524. 


THE   GERALDINES.  377 

O'Neill,  and  also  with  Burke  of  Connaught.  The  next  year  he 
was  in  correspondence  with  the  King  of  Scotland,  who  purposed 
making  a  descent  on  Ireland,  but  the  fate  of  Bruce  must  have 
warned  O'Donnell,  and  he  dissuaded  James  IV.  from  his  designs.* 
Three  years  later  he  attacked  O'Connor  Roe.  He  had  previously 
tried  in  vain  to  take  O'Connor's  fortified  castle  of  Sligo,  but  a 
French  knight,  who  had  been  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Lough  Derg 
and  was  hospitably  treated  by  O'Donnell,  sent  him  a  ship  armed 
with  heavy  guns  and  with  this  Sligo  castle  was  attacked  from  the 
sea  and  captured. f  The  same  year  O'Donnell  and  O'Neill  were 
at  war.  In  these  wars  with  Tirowen  it  has  been  said  that  O'Donnell 
was  generally  the  aggressor,^  but  in  1522,  in  the  war  between 
them  of  that  year,  the  aggressor  was  O'Neill.  He  made  his 
preparations  with  secrecy  and  care,  strengthened  himself  by  an 
alliance  with  all  the  Connaught  chiefs — Clanrickard,  the 
O'Connors,  Burke  of  Mayo  and  MacDermott,  got  the  aid  even 
of  O'Brien  of  Thomond,  sought  and  obtained  the  help  of  his 
own  Ulster  chiefs — Magennis,  MacMahon  and  O'Reilly — and  had 
a  contingent  of  English  mercenaries  from  Leinster,  who  came 
to  help  "  the  son  of  the  Earl's  daughter, "il  for  Con  O'Neill  was 
a  grandson  of  an  Earl  of  Kildare.  Against  such  forces  it  seemed 
vain  for  O'Donnell  to  contend,  but  he  was  not  dismayed.  He 
called  together  his  own  chieftains  of  Tirconnell—O' Boyle, 
O'Doherty,  the  MacSweenys  and  O' Gallagher — told  them  he 
would  rather  die  fighting  than  surrender  his  freedom  to  O'Neill, 
and  to  that  chieftain's  peremptory  summons  to  submit,  he  sent 
him  back  defiance  and  bade  him  do  his  worst.  Without  waiting 
for  his  allies  of  Munster  and  Connaught,  O'Neill  despatched  a 
contingent  into  Tirconnell  and  captured  the  castle  of  Ballyshannon 
which  was  bravely  defended  by  MacSweeny,  and  then  he  laid 
waste  the  surrounding  country.  O'Donnell,  on  his  side,  was 
not  idle  and  despatched  his  son,  Manus,  to  devastate  Tirowen. 
This  had  the  desired  effect,  for  O'Neill's  army  was  withdrawn 
from  Tirconnell  and  while  awaiting  his  allies  his  whole  army 
encamped  on  the  Hill  of  Knockvoe,  overlooking  the  town  of 
Strabane.  O'Donnell  had  marched  south  to  intercept  the  enemy 
and  if  possible  to  save  Ballyshannon,  but  he  was  late,  and  being 
now  joined  by  his  son,  Manus,  returning  from  Tirowen,  he 
marched  north,  through  the  gap  of  Barnsmore,  and  advancing 
along  the  banks  of  the  River  Finn,  pitched  his  camp  not  far  from 
O'Neill,  a  little  north  of  the  town  of  Lifford.      In  numbers  he 


*  Foicr  Masters. 

t  Ibid.,   1 5 16. 

X  Haverty's  History  of  Ireland^  p.  347. 

jl  Four  Masters. 


3/8  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

was  far  inferior  to  O'Neill,  but  he  was  his  superior  in  skill  and 
daring,  and  while  yet  the  forces  of  Connaught  and  Munster  had 
not  reached  Tirowen  he  resolved  to  make  a  night  attack  on 
O'Neill's  camp.  He  did  so  and  with  the  most  complete  success. 
O'Neill  was  defeated,  lost  900  men  in  the  engagement,  many  of 
his  best  leaders,  and  great  quantities  of  armour,  provisions,  and 
"  strong  liquors  "  fell  into  O'Donnell's  hands*  Emboldened  by 
his  victory,  O'Donnell  marched  south  to  measure  swords  with 
the  forces  of  Munster  and  Connaught,  but  the  news  of  his  victory 
went  before  him  and  filled  his  enemies  with  dismay.  They  hastily 
raised  the  siege  of  Sligo,  which  they  had  been  trying  to  capture, 
and  without  waiting  to  encounter  the  victorious  Northern  they 
returned  home.f  The  next  year  O'Donnell  entered  Tirowen 
and  desolated  the  whole  country,  "  burned  its  edifices  and 
corn,  and  left  nothing  worth  notice  in  it  without  burning."  | 
Continuing  these  quarrels,  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  were 
again  at  war  in  the  next  year,  and  on  this  occasion  the 
Deputy  with  his  forces  marched  to  O'Neill's  assistance,  but  he 
was  desirous  to  establish  peace  between  them,  for  he  was  friendly 
to  both.  Fie  brought  them  together  in  conference  and  succeeded 
in  reconciling  them,  becoming  himself  security  for  the  terms  of 
agreement.  And  Kildare  formed  gossipred  with  O'Donnell. 
In  defiance  of  this  agreement  the  two  Northerns  were  at  war 
again  next  year.  Again  the  Deputy  strove  to  reconcile  them  and 
had  a  conference  in  Dublin  for  the  purpose,  but  it  proved 
abortive  and  they  went  home  and  went  to  war,  though  they 
shortly  afterwards  made  peace. || 

These  events  tried  the  patience  as  they  tested  the  prudence 
of  Kildare,  nor  was  it  certain  that  his  share  in  them  would  meet 
with  approval  in  England.  Both  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  had 
submitted  to  Lord  Surrey  and  promised  to  be  loyal  subjects 
of  England,  but  their  conduct  since  was  little  in  harmony  with 
that  of  well-disposed  subjects.  And  the  enemies  of  Kildare 
noted  that  he  continued  to  be  friendly  with  both  these  chiefs, 
whose  turbulence  had  set  the  country  ablaze,  that  he  was  prepared 
at  one  time  to  lend  the  forces  of  the  Crown  to  enable  one  of  them 
to  triumph  over  his  foe,  that,  in  defiance  of  many  parliamentary 
enactments,  he  had  formed  with  O'Donnell  the  tie  of  gossipred, 
and  that  when  he  was  inaugurated  as  Lord  Deputy,  the  Sword 
of  State  was  borne  by  O'Neill.**  Nor  was  this  all.  During 
these  years   the   relations   between    England   and    France   were 

*  Four  Masters. 

f  Ibid,  and  Annals  of  Loch   Ce. 

X  Ibid.,    1523. 

!|  Four  Masters. 

**  Cox,  p.   214. 


THE   GERALDINES.  379 

strained,  and  as  part  of  the  game  of  politics,  Francis  I.  meditated 
a  descent  upon  Ireland,  and  for  that  purpose  entered  into 
negotiations  with  the  Earl  of  Desmond.  The  insular  simplicity 
of  the  Irishman  did  not  understand  the  motives  of  French 
policy,  for  Francis  was  not  thinking  of  Irish  freedom,  and  was 
concerned  only  to  curb  and  restrain  Henry's  continental  activity 
by  furnishing  him  with  some  trouble  nearer  home.  Desmond's 
vanity  was  flattered  and  he  showed  a  readiness  to  second  the 
efforts  of  the  French  king.  His  conduct  did  not  escape  the 
vigilance  and  the  malignity  of  Ormond.  His  treason  was 
quickly  made  known  in  London,  and  forthwith  peremptory 
orders  were  sent  to  the  Deputy  to  proceed  to  Munster  and  arrest 
as  a  traitor  the  offending  Earl.  Without  delay  Kildare  proceeded 
south  to  execute  the  orders  he  had  got,  but  Desmond,  by  retreat- 
ing into  the  mountains,  managed  to  elude  arrest,  and  the 
Deputy  was  compelled  to  return  to  Dublin  without  being  able 
to  carry  out  his  orders.*  His  enemies  reported  that  he  was 
lukewarm  and  insincere  in  the  King's  service,  that  he  was  in 
collusion  with  Desmond  and  had  sent  him  friendly  warning 
beforehand,  and  that  to  this  Desmond's  escape  v/as  due.  To 
be  guilty  of  being  in  collusion  with  a  traitor  was  a  crime  of 
the  gravest  nature,  to  be  suspected  of  it  was  serious  and  at  least 
required  investigation,  and  once  again  Kildare  had  to  proceed 
to  London  (1526),  and  answer  the  following  charges — that  he 
had  neglected  to  arrest  Desmond,  that  he  had  contracted 
affinity  with  "  Irish  enemies,"  that  he  had  hanged  certain  good 
subjects,  and  that  he  had  conspired  with  O'Neill  and  O'Connor 
to  make  an  inroad  into  Ormond's  territory.  On  these  charges 
he   was  lodged   a   prisoner   in   the    Tower.f 

The  accused  Deputy  was  not  brought  to  trial  at  once,  though 
many  efforts  were  made  against  him  by  his  enemies,  and  so 
many  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  Pale  went  to  England,  that 
the  English  Council  directed  the  Archbishop  of  x'^rmagh  to 
remain  in  Ireland,  as  otherwise  all  the  great  men  of  Ireland 
would  be  in  England.  I  At  length,  when  Ormond  and  his 
friends  had  completed  their  preparations  and  believed  they 
were  able  to  effect  the  late  Deputy's  ruin,  he  was  brought  before 
Wolsey  and  the  English  Council  to  be  tried.  Wolsey's  prejudices 
against  the  accused  had  grown  with  time.  He  was  placed 
in  the  position  of  judge,  to  act  only  on  the  evidence  and  to 
convict  only  when  the  charges  made  were  satisfactorily  proved  ; 
but  his  conduct  at  the  trial  was  rather  that  of  an  embittered 


*  Cox,  p.  215. 

t  Ware's  Annals,    1526. 

X   Hamilton's  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  p.    5. 


380  HISTORY   OF    IRELAND. 

partisan  than  of  an  impartial  judge.  Instead  of  leaving  to 
others  the  work  of  accusation  he  became  accuser  himself,  though 
he  felt  he  owed  an  apology  to  the  Council  for  doing  so.  He 
charged  him  that  though  his  friend  Desmond  was  in  treasonable 
correspondence  with  Francis  I.  of  France,  and  afterwards  with 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  yet  he  would  not  arrest  him  as  a  traitor, 
but  when  sent  to  do  so  wilfully  shunned  his  sight,  altered  his 
course,  warned  his  friends.  He  taunted  him  that  if  he  had 
but  lost  a  cow  or  garron  of  his  own,  two  hundred  kerns  would 
have  come  at  his  whistle  to  recover  the  prey  from  the  uttermost 
edge  of  Ulster.  He  calls  him  not  so  much  the  Earl  of  Kiidare 
as  the  King  of  Kiidare,  tells  him  that  he  reigns  over  the  land 
rather  than  rules  it,  that  where  he  is  malicious  the  truest 
subjects  stand  for  Irish  enemies,  and  where  he  is  pleased  the 
Irish  enemy  stands  for  a  dutiful  subject.  Kiidare  had  not  an 
angel's  patience,  the  limits  of  his  endurance  had  been  passed, 
and  with  dif^culty  he  restrained  himself  while  the  Cardinal 
spoke.  Then  he  rose  angrily  to  reply.  As  to  Desmond  he 
protests  he  did  his  duty,  and  to  the  charge  that  he  forewarned 
him  he  indignantly  replies  by  asking  who  was  the  messenger 
by  whom  the  warning  was  sent,  if  it  was  sent  by  letter,  where 
was  the  letter — his  servants  and  friends  are  ready  to  be  examined, 
why  not  examine  them,  and  where  is  the  justice  of  relying  solely 
on  what  his  enemies  say,  on  their  base  words,  their  heedless 
hearsays,  their  frantic  oaths.  His  last  words  were  for  the 
Cardinal  and  must  have  nettled  him  not  a  little.  "  As  touching 
my  kingdom,  my  Lord  (he  said),  I  would  you  and  I  had  ex- 
changed kingdoms  but  for  one  month,  I  would  trust  to  gather 
up  more  crumbs  in  that  space  than  twice  the  revenues  of  my 
poor  Earldom.  I  sleep  in  a  cabin  when  you  lie  soft  on  your 
bed  of  down,  I  serve  under  the  cope  of  Heaven  when  you  are 
served  under  a  canopy,  I  drink  water  out  of  a  shell  when  you 
drink  out  of  golden  cups,  my  courser  is  trained  to  the  field  when 
your  jennet  is  taught  to  amble."  These  unpleasant  truths, 
all  the  more  unpleasant  because  they  were  true,  Wolsey  heard 
with  anger,  though  there  were  many  at  the  Council  who  were 
glad  to  hear  them,  for  Wolsey  had  many  enemies  and  scarce 
any  friends.  But  though  Kiidare  was  acquitted  of  conniving 
at  Desmond's  escape  the  charge  that  he  had  urged  O'Neill 
and  O'Connor  to  attack  the  Earl  of  Ormond  was  not  so  easily 
disposed  of  :  he  was  in  fact  found  guilty  of  this  and  sent  back 
a  prisoner  to  the  Tower.  And  Wolsey  sent  an  order  to  the 
governor  to  have  him  executed,  but  appeal  was  made  to  King 
Henry  in  person,  and  Wolsey 's  order  was  not  carried  out.* 

*LCampion's    History   of   Ireland,    pp.    164-72;      Cox,    pp.    219-20: 


THE   GERALDINES.  38 1 

The  state  of  Ireland  in  the  meantime  went  from  bad  to  worse. 
When  leaving  for  England  Kildare  had  left  as  his  Deputy  his 
relative — Sir  James  Fitzgerald,— but,  probably  because  he  was 
his  relative,  he  was  soon  dismissed  and  Lord  Delvin  appointed 
in  his  place  (1526).*  In  collusion  with  O'Carroll  of  Ely,  and 
as  it  appeared  at  the  instigation  of  Kildare,  O'Connor  of  Offaly 
made  an  attack  on  the  Pale,  and  Delvin,  who  sought  to  chastise 
his  insolence,  attacked  him  with  all  the  forces  he  could  muster, 
but  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner.  Nor  was  it  until  after 
protracted  negotiations,  much  delay  and  the  payment  of  a 
ransom  that  O'Connor  allowed  him  to  go  free.  The  Archbishop 
of  Dublin  and  Birmingham,  the  Lord  Chief  Justice,  had  already 
warned  Wolsey  of  Delvin's  incapacity  and  they  suggested  that 
Kildare  be  sent  back  ;  f  other  influences  were  at  work  to  have 
Ormond  appointed  Deputy,  while  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  attributed 
all  the  ills  of  the  Pale  to  the  quarrels  between  Kildare  and 
Ormond,  and  remonstrated  against  the  appointment  of  either.^ 
But  his  remonstrance  was  unheeded.  Ormond  was  now  in 
high  favour  with  the  King.  His  relative,  Mary  Boleyn,  had 
been  the  King's  mistress  and  her  sister  Anne  had  succeeded  her 
in  the  same  degraded  position,  and  had  unbounded  influence 
over  her  royal  paramour.  At  the  King's  suggestion  and  request, 
Ormond  had  resigned  his  Earldom,  which  was  conferred  on 
Anne  Boleyn's  father,  Sir  Thomas  Boleyn,  who  thus  became 
Earl  of  Ormond,!!  while  the  Sir  Piers  Butler  of  other  days  became 
Earl  of  Ossory  and  Lord  Deputy  (1528),  and  his  son.  Sir  James 
Butler,  was  appointed  Lord  Treasurer  of  Ireland.  Vet,  though 
in  such  high  favour  with  the  King,  and  having  large  resources 
at  his  command,  Ossory  did  not  succeed.  He  was  not  personally 
popular  in  Ireland,  either  with  native  or  English-born.  Among 
the  higher  officials  in  the  Pale  Kildare  had  many  friends,  and 
his  relatives  among  the  Irish  chiefs  would  take  care  to  give 
trouble  to  the  man  who  had  so  patiently  and  so  perseveringly 
plotted  Kildare's  ruin.  At  length  the  wisdom  and  policy  of 
Norfolk's**  advice  was  recognised,  Ossory  was  set  aside  (1529), 
and  the  government  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  Englishman — 
Sir  William  Skeffington.  With  him  there  came,  though  given 
no  official  position,  the  exiled  Earl  of  Kildare.      His  old  enemy 

*  Ware's  Annals. 

t  State  Papers  (Henry   VIIl),   pp.    126-7. 

X  This  was  the  Earl  of  Surrey  of  former  days.  He  was  Duke  of  Norfolk 
«ince    1524. 

!1  Carte's  Ormond — Introduction,  p.  45. 

*  *  Norfolk  had  declared  that  the  malice  between  the  Earls  of  Kildare 
and  Ossory  was  the  only  cause  of  the  ruin  of  that  poor  land.  {State  Papers ^ 
p.  134 — Letter  to  Wolsey.) 


382  HISTOUY    OF    IRELAND. 

Wolse\',  was  now  fallen  and  disgraced  ;  it  became  the  fashion 
to  honour  those  whom  he  had  sought  to  dishonour  ;  the  Earl 
of  Desmond  was  dead  and  could  no  longer  intrigue  with  either 
emperor  or  king  •  and  there  could  be  no  object  gained  by 
keeping  Kildare  in  England.  And  it  was  expected  that  in 
Ireland  he  would  second  the  efforts  of  Skeffington  and  help  to 
re-establish    the   authority    of   the   crown. 

At  first  all  went  well.  Con  O'Neill  of  Tirowen  had  harassed 
the  Pale  by  his  attacks  ;  it  was  necessary  to  punish  him  ;  for 
that  purpose  an  army  was  mustered  ;  and  the  unusual  spectacle 
was  seen  of  Kildare  and  Ossory  marching  together  under  the 
Deputy's  command  to  lay  waste  the  lands  of  Tirowen.  With 
them  also,  on  this  expedition  (1531),  was  O'Donnell  of  Tirconnell. 
Since  the  year  in  which  he  had  won  the  victory  of  Knockvoe, 
and  chased  the  Munstermen  and  Connaughtmen  from  Sligo,  he 
laid  claim  to  be  the  over-lord  of  Connaught  and  obtained  tribute 
from  its  chiefs.  But  either  his  exactions  or  his  insolence  became 
unbearable  and  a  confederacy  was  formed  for  his  overthrow 
(1526),  in  which  O'Connor  and  MacDonogh,  and  MacDermot 
joined  and  afterwards  Burke  and  Barrett  of  Mayo.  Even 
this  confederacy  was  not  equal  for  O'Donnell,  nor  did  it  liberate 
Connaught  from  his  yoke,  and  in  that  year  he  twice  entered 
Connaught,  ravaged  Moylurg,  destroyed  the  strong  castle  of 
Grange,  defeated  the  united  forces  of  O'Connor  and  MacDonogh, 
crossed  the  Moy  and  marched  as  far  as  Crossmolina,  and  com- 
pelled both  Burke  and  Barret  to  give  him  obedience.  Every 
year  subsequently,  for  the  next  five  years,  Connaught  was 
subject  to  his  attacks  ;  and  if  a  chief  murmured  or  became  restive, 
or  if  his  rent  was  not  regularly  paid,  he  entered  the  province 
and  wasted  it  with  fire  and  sword.*  It  was  hardly  zeal  for  the 
service  of  an  English  king  that  caused  him  to  march  under 
the  banners  of  Skeffington,  but  O'Neill's  territory  was  to  be 
attacked,  and  the  prospect  of  inflicting  damage  on  his  rival  he 
found  it  impossible  to  resist.  But  such  an  alliance  was  not 
likely  to  endure.  It  was  composed  of  too  many  discordant 
elements,  and  the  evils  of  dissension  would  be  likely  soon  to  appear. 
Ancient  enmities  are  not  easily  laid  aside,  neither  Kildare  nor 
Ossory  had  ever  shown  an  apostolic  spirit  of  forgiveness,  and 
it  would  be  dif^cult  indeed  to  discover  any  object  for  which 
they  could  work  harmoniously  together.  O'Donnell's  only 
object  was  to  injure,  and,  if  possible,  ruin  O'Neill,  and  this  done 
he  would  have  no  special  enthusiasm  for  England  or  England's 
Viceroy.  Nor  did  Kildare  or  Ossory  wish  to  be  placed  in  a 
subordinate  position  to  such  as  Skeffington,  for  both  were  proud, 

*  Annals  of  Four  Masters.      Annals  of  Loch  Ce. 


THE   GERALDINES.  383 

both  belonged  to  ancient  families,  who  for  centuries  had 
been  possessed  of  almost  regal  power,  and  both  considered  it 
an  indignity  to  be  thus  placed  under  the  command  of  a  simple 
English  knight.  Some  damage  was  done  to  Tirowen  by  the 
allied  forces,  but  it  was  not  considerable.*  Skeffington,  not 
remarkable  for  military  talents  and  ill  supported,  was  able  to 
do  nothing  more.  He  and  Kildare  quarrelled,  intrigues  were 
set  on  foot  against  him,  and  the  influence  of  Kildare  was  such 
that  SkefBngton  was  recalled,  and  Kildare  himself  became  once 
more  Lord  Deputy .f  Apparently  as  a  counterpoise,  Lord 
James  Butler,  Ossory's  son,  was  continued  in  the  office  of  Lord 
Treasurer. 

During  his  last  term  of  office  Kildare  was  as  active  as  ever 
and  as  overbearing.  All  those  who  had  acted  as  his  friends 
during  the  years  of  stress  and  trial  which  had  passed  he  favoured 
and  exalted.  But  with  those  who  had  acted  as  his  enemies 
he  determined  to  be  even,  and  amongst  them  Allen,  Archbishop 
of  Dublin,  and  the  Earl  of  Ossory  were  selected  as  the  special 
objects  of  his  resentment.  Allen  was  Lord  Chancellor,  he  had 
been  the  creature  and  favourite  of  Wolsey,  and  this  fact 
alone  was  enough  to  turn  against  him  Kildare's  wrath.  He 
was  asked  to  give  an  account  of  the  public  moneys  that  had 
passed  through  his  hands  as  Chancellor ;  his  explanation  of 
many  things  was  halting  and  insufficient,  and  Kildare 
summarily  dismissed  him  from  office,  I  and  appointed  in 
his  place  a  staunch  and  faithful  friend  of  his  own,  — 
Cromer,  Archbishop  of  Armagh.  But  his  old  enemy, 
Ossory,  he  harassed  and  persecuted  still  more,  ravaged 
his  lands,  destroyed  his  castles  and  attacked  his  city  of 
Kilkenny.  Nor  did  he  disdain  alliances  with  the  Irish 
chiefs,  but,  on  the  contrary,  gave  a  daughter  in  marriage 
to  O'Carroll  of  Ely  and  another  to  O'Connor  of  Offaly,||  and 
it  was  at  his  suggestion  that  his  brother  John  and  O'Neill 
devastated  Louth.  In  some  family  squabble  between  the 
O'Carrolls,  the  Deputy  had  interfered  on  behalf  of  his  son-in-law, 
and  in  some  small  engagement  received  a  gun-shot  wound, 
which  was  serious,  and  often  afterwards  gave  him  such  pain 
that  it  was  said  he  had  become  mentally  deranged.  At  least 
such  was    the  view  of  many    who    could  not   otherwise   explain 


*  Ware's     Annals,     1531.     State    Papers,     pp.     15 1-2.     (O'Donnell's 
submission.) 

t  Ibid.^   1532. 

X  State  Papers,  p.    159.     He  was  appointed   Chancellor  in   1528,  and 
dismissed   in    July,    1532. 
.  II  I6zd.,^;p.   161. 


384  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

the  violence  of  his  conduct.*  Secret  consultations  were  held 
by  Allen  and  Ossory,  in  conjunction  with  the  late  Deputy, 
Skeffington.  It  was  proposed  to  arraign  Kildare  before  the 
King,  a  majority  of  the  Irish  Council  were  found  to  be  in  favour 
of  this  course,  and  Allen,  Master  of  the  Rolls,  was  deputed  to 
proceed  to  England.  He  told  Henry  VIII.  that  English  laws, 
manners,  habits  and  language  were  circumscribed  within  a 
circuit  of  twenty  miles,  that  the  exactions  and  oppressions 
practised  on  the  inhabitants  loyal  to  England  had  driven  many 
from  the  land,  and  that  their  lands  were  occupied  by  Irish 
enemies,  from  which  it  might  be  inferred  that  English  power 
in  Ireland  was  almost  at  an  end.  Impressed  with  the  gravity 
of  these  accusations,  the  King  was  highly  incensed  against  the 
Deputy,  and  sent  him  a  peremptory  mandate  to  at  once  proceed 
to  England  and  answer  for  his  conduct.  Kildare  was  in  a  cruel 
difficulty.  He  could  not  disobey  the  King's  summons,  and 
he  feared  to  obey  it.  He  was  conscious  that  he  had  made 
mistakes,  that  his  conduct  had  been  arbitrary  and  oppressive. 
He  knew  that  his  enemies  were  able,  influential  and  vindictive 
and  that  whatever  irregularities  he  had  been  guilty  of  their 
malignity  would  turn  into  crimes,  and  he  sent  his  wife  to 
England  hoping  that  through  her  influential  friends  the  King 
would  relent.  In  the  meantime  he  furnished  his  castles  with  arms 
and  ammunition  from  the  government  stores  as  if  he  intended 
in  the  last  resort  to  rebel.  In  England  his  wife  put  forth  her 
best  efforts  on  his  behalf,  and  her  friends  were  powerful,  but 
it  was  in  vain.  Henry  would  not  be  moved.  His  summons 
was  urgent  and  would  not  be  recalled  ;  it  was  dangerous  even  to 
delay  ;  and  with  a  heavy  heart  and  evident  foreboding  of  ill, 
Kildare  left   Ireland  (1534),   never   afterwards   to  return.j 

*  Cox,  p.  224.  He  received  the  wound  besieging  the  Castle  of  Birr. 
He  regained,  says  Cox,  his  health  but  not  his  "  intellectuals,"  and  was  ever 
after  "  a  little  crackbrained." 

■j"  Cox,  pp.  225-6. 


)'fj:?^^m^^>:^=^m^mi(M^^^^^^^^^. 


CHx'\PTER    XXVII. 

Tke    Folly    of    Silken     Thomas. 

The  Earl  of  Kildare  calls  a  Council  at  Drogheda — Appoints  his  son 
Thomas,  his  Deputy — His  advice  to  him — Rumor  that  Kildare  was 
executed  in  England — Silken  Thomas  decides  to  rebel — Surrenders 
the  Sword  of  State — His  conduct  at  the  Council — Attacked  Dublin — 
Failed  to  capture  Dublin  Castle — Murder  of  Archbishop  Allen — 
Progress  of  the  rebellion — Silken  Thomas  and  Lord  James  Butler — 
Conduct  of  the  Dublin  citizens — Reinforcements  from  England 
with  Skefhngton — Silken  Thomas  excommunicated — Capture  of 
Maynooth — The  friends  and  enemies  of  Silken  Thomas — Lord 
Leonard  Gray  appointed  Commander  of  the  English  forces — Silken 
Thomas  submits  and  sent  to  England — Gray  appointed  Viceroy — 
The  Fitzgeralds  executed  in  London — Young  Gerald  Fitzgerald — 
Attempts  to  capture  him — First  Geraldine  League — Manus  O'Donnell- 
Young  Fitzgerald  escapes  to  France — His  fate. 

When  Kildare  was  leaving  for  England  he  was  directed  by 
Henry  VIII.  to  appoint  someone  as  his  Deputy  on  whom  he 
could  rely.  It  was  necessary  that  the  Irish  Government  should 
not  be  left  without  a  head,  and  it  was  moreover  necessary, 
in  the  troubled  times  then  existing,  that  he  should  be  a  person 
of  prudence  and  courage,  a  man  capable  of  forming  his  own 
judgment,  not  acting  on  impulse  or  caprice,  not  likely  to  accept 
as  certainties,  at  least  without  careful  scrutiny,  the  interested 
reports  of  others,  and  not  likely  to  act  from  personal  rancour 
or  become  the  tool  of  faction.  Perhaps  Kildare  found  it 
•dif^cult  to  discover  any  such  person  to  act  for  him.  His  conduct 
had  recently  been  hard  to  understand.  He  had  made  many 
enemies,*  his  deputy  would  have  to  keep  these  enemies  in  check 
and  to  interpret  his  own  recent  acts  in  a  favourable  light  ;  and 
it  may  be  that  even  his  best  friends  shrank  from  undertaking 
such  a  burden.  Either  from  necessity  or  choice,  he  appointed 
his    son    Thomas    to  the    office,  and  the  appointment  was    in 

*  These  enemies  were  among  the  Privy  Council,  for  Kildare  in  his 
speech  at  Drogheda  declared  that  they  would  be  willing  to  risk  the  loss 
of  one  of  their  eyes,  if  they  could  be  assured  that  he  would  lose  both  his. 
(Cox,  p.   227.) 

2C 


386  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

every  way  unfortunate  and,  for  the  Geraldines,  had  a  tragic 
termination.  Thomas  was  not  yet  21  years  old.  He  had 
neither  the  wisdom  nor  experience  of  age,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
had  more  than  the  usual  share  of  the  rashness  and  impetuosity 
of  youth.  Generous,  brave,  unsuspecting,  he  had  not  the 
penetration  to  see  where  danger  lurked,  did  not  realise  the  number 
of  his  enemies,  nor  the  extent  of  their  malignity,  and  readily 
fell  into  the  snares  which  they  skilfully  laid  for  his  destruction, 
His  father,  before  taking  ship  from  Drogheda,  seems  to  have 
had  some  misgiving  as  to  the  choice  he  made,  some  premonition 
of  impending  ill,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  Privy 
Council  gave  his  son  some  sound  advice,  which  that  young  man 
would  have  done  well  to  have  acted  upon.  "  My  son,  Thomas 
(he  said),  you  know  that  my  sovereign  lord,  the  King,  has  sent 
for  me  into  England,  and  what  shall  betide  me  God  knows, 
for  I  do  not.  But  whatever  happens  I  am  now  well  spent  in 
years,  and  so  I  must  soon  die,  because  I  am  old.*  Wherefore, 
as  my  winter  is  well  nigh  ended,  and  the  spring  of  your  age 
now  buds,  my  will  is  that  you  behave  so  wisely  in  these  your 
green  years  that  with  honour  you  may  grow  to  that  hoary 
winter  through  which  your  father  is  marching  fast.  And 
because  it  pleases  his  majesty,  the  King,  that  upon  my  departure 
I  should  substitute  in  my  place  someone  for  whose  government 
I  could  answer,  although  I  know  your  years  are  tender  and 
your  judgment  not  matured,  and,  therefore,  I  might  with  good 
cause  be  reluctant  to  put  a  naked  sword  in  a  young  man's  hand. 
Yet,  because  I  am  your  father,  I  am  satisfied  to  share  with  you 
the  command  of  the  ship  of  State,  so  that  I  may  be  able  to 
command  you  as  a  father  and  correct  you  as  my  son,  if  you 
should  wrongly  handle  the  helm.  And  now  my  desire  is 
rather  to  learn  how  to  die  in  the  fear  of  God  than  to  live  in  the 
pomp  of  the  world.  But  do  you  consider  how  easy  it  is  to 
destroy,  how  hard  to  build  up,  and  in  all  your  affairs  be  ruled 
by  this  Council  whose  wisdom  will  be  able  to  restrain  you  with 
sound  and  sage  advice,  for  though  in  authority  you  rule  them, 
they  in  Council  must  rule  you.  My  son,  you  know  that  my 
late  wounds  stifle  my  talk,  or  I  would  have  grated  longer  on 
this  matter,  for  a  good  tale  may  be  twice  told.  .  .  But  though 
my  fatherly  affection  requires  my  discourse  to  be  longer,  I 
trust  your  good  inclination  asks  it  to  be  shorter,  and  upon  that 
assurance  here,  in  the  presence  of  this  honourable  assembly, 
I  deliver  you  this  sword."  | 

*  This  cannot  be  reconciled  with  Gilbert's  statement  (Viceroys^  p.- 
467),  that  Gerald,  in  1502,  was  only  15  years  old,  which  would  make  his 
age  at  this  time  only  47. 

f  Cox  pp.  226-7.     He  left  Drogheda  for  England  about  February,  1534. 


THE   FOLLY    OF   SILKEN   THOMAS.  387 

In  an  atmosphere  of  adulation  and  intrigue  these  salutary 
counsels    were    soon    forgotten.      Thomas    was    thoughtless  and 
vain,  so  fond  of  dress  that  he  was  called  Silken  Thomas,  proud 
of  his  family,  its  power  and  its  ancient  renown,  and  surrounded 
by  those  flatterers  who  flourish  within  the  shadow  of  authority, 
his  self-confidence  was  without  bounds.      His  father's  enemies 
resolved  to  take  advantage  of  his  innocence  and  credulity,  and 
industriously   spread    abroad    a     report    that    when    his     father 
reached  London  he  was  put  to  death.      The  lie  had  the  desired 
effect,  for,  though  it  was  a  lie,  it  was  quickly  believed.      A  wise 
man  would  hesitate  to  believe  such  a  story,  a  prudent  man  would 
at  least  wait  until  full  inquiry  could  be  made,  so  that  its  truth 
or  falsity  could  be  ascertained.      But  Silken  Thomas  was  neither 
a  wise,  nor  a  prudent  man,  and,  without  stopping  to  consider 
its  inherent  improbability  or    the  source  from  which    it    came 
he  accepted  the  whole  story  as  true,  and  prepared  to  be  revenged 
as  best  he  could.      With  a  retinue  of  140  horsemen  he  entered 
the  city  of  Dublin,  then  crossed  the  river  to  St.  Mary's  Abbey 
where  the  Council  was  sitting,  and  with  flushed  face  and  quivering 
lips  he  flung    the    Sword    of  State  on    the  Council  table   and 
proclaimed   that  he  was    no  longer    Henry's    Deputy  but  his 
foe.      "  I  have  (he  said),  more  mind  to  conquer  than    to  govern, 
to  meet  him  in  the  field  than  to  serve  him  in  office,  and  if  all  the 
hearts  of  England  and  Ireland  join  in  this  quarrel,  as  I  trust 
they  will,  then  should  he  be  a  byword    for  his   heresy,  lechery 
and  tyranny,    wherein  the  age    to  come  may  skore   him  among 
the  ancient  princes  of  most   abominable  and  hateful  memory." 
And  Campion  adds  that  he  used   many  other  slanderous  and 
foul  terms,  "  which  for  regard  of  the  King's  posterity  I   have 
no  mind  to    utter."  *     His  own  and  his  father's  friend,  Cromer 
Archbishop  of  Armagh,  sought  to  dissuade  him  from  his  folly 
took  him  affectionately    by  the  hand,  and  with  tears  streaming 
down  his  face  used  ever^^^form  of  entreaty.  It  was  in  vain.   Among 
the   Deputy's   followers  was   an    Irish   minstrel   who  just   then 
struck  upon  his  harp  some  wild  notes  of  defiance,  in  his  own 
tongue,  begged  of  the  great  Geraldine  to  be  revenged,  and  the 
thoughtless  words  of   the   harper   were   more  potent   than   the 
appeals    and    entreaties    of    the    Archbishop.      And,  breathing 
forth  vengeance  and  war,  Silken  Thomas  rushed  from  the  Council 
Chamber  to  his  doom,j 

He  had  soon  gathered  around  him  his  own  retainers,  his 
tenants  and  friends,  and  he  v/as  joined  by  large  numbers  of  the 

*  Campion's  ■  History,  p.    176. 

t  Cox    p.   231.     Ware's  Annals.     These  events  occurred  on  the  nth 
June. 


388  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

Irish  both  within  the  Pale  and  on  its  borders,  and  at  the  head 
of  this  army — more  formidable  in  numbers  than  in  discipline — 
he  appeared  before  Dublin  and  demanded  the  submission  of  the 
city.  The  citizens  were  then  as  always  devotedly  loyal  to  the 
English  king,  but  they  had  no  organized  forces  for  defence,  and 
the  plague  which  was  after  making  great  havoc  among  them 
weakened  their  capacity  for  resistance.  They  reluctantly  sub- 
mitted, but  the  government  officials  retired  within  the  shelter 
of  Dublin  Castle,  which  was  so  strongly  fortified  that  the  ordnance 
of  Silken  Thomas  was  unable  to  make  any  impression  on  its 
defences.  Leaving  a  portion  of  his  forces  to  continue  the  siege 
of  the  Castle,  the  rebellious  Geraldine,  at  the  head  of  the  remainder, 
swept  in  anger  through  the  district  of  Fingal,*  laying  waste  the 
homes  of  the  English  residents  in  that  district.  Within  the 
Castle  meanwhile  was  Allen,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  and  had  he 
remained  there  his  position  was  one  of  security.  But  he  was  by 
nature  timorous,  he  had  long  been  the  bitter  enemy  of  the 
Geraldines,  he  had  striven  with  the  Butler  faction  for  the  ruin 
of  Kildare,  and  in  the  intrigues  which  drove  Kildare's  son  to 
revolt  it  is  easy  to  discern  his  hand.  The  prospect  of  Dublin 
Castle  being  captured  by  that  young  man  he  regarded  with 
dismay,  feeling  that  he  would  receive  no  mercy,  and  in  the  hope 
of  getting  beyond  his  rage  he  secretly  and  stealthily  took  shipping 
for  England.  Perhaps  it  was  by  stress  of  weather,  perhaps  it 
was  by  treachery,  the  vessel  was  driven  on  the  beach  at  Clontarf, 
and  the  terrified  Archbishop  hastened  to  take  refuge  in  a  friend's 
house  in  the  neighbouring  village  of  Artane.  His  hiding  place 
was  soon  discovered  and  the  soldiers  of  Silken  Thomas  dragged 
the  unfortunate  Archbishop  from  his  bed  before  their  master. 
Allen  was  not  a  man  to  inspire  much  sympathy  or  respect.  "  He 
was  an  astute,  hard  man  and,  like  Cromwell,  had  been  trained 
up  in  business  to  the  detriment  of  his  humanity  or  even  honesty."  f 
As  Commissioner  of  Wolsey's  legatine  court,  he  was  both  hated 
and  feared,  he  was  a  sharer  in  the  spoliation  of  many  monasteries, 
his  letters  to  Wolsey's  successor,  Cromwell,  show  how  avaricious 
and  grasping  he  was,  and  Kildare  was  enabled  to  dismiss  him 
from  the  Chancellorship  because  he  appropriated  public  funds  to 
his  own  personal  uses. J  Yet  even  a  worse  man  might  have 
excited  pity  and  might  expect  mercy,  as  he  threw  himself  before 
Fitzgerald,  bareheaded  and  barefooted,  dressed  only  in  his  shirt, 
his  hands  clasped  piteously  in  supplication.     It  is  true  that  Silken 


*  Fingal  was  that  district.  North  of  Dublin,  extending  eastwards  to 
the  sea  by  Clontarf  and  on  to  Howth.     {Book  of  Rights,  p.   187.) 
\  Gasquet  Henry    VIII.  and  the  English  Monasteries,  pp.  20- 1, 
t  D' A]  ton's  History  of  the  Archbishops  of  Dublin,  pp.  184-90. 


THE   FOLLY   OF    SILKEN   THOMAS.  389 

Thomas  did  not  tell  his  followers  to  murder  him,  for  the  words 
he  used  were  "  take  away  from  me  that  clown,"  but  before  his 
eyes  the  soldiers  fell  upon  the  hapless  Allen  and  butchered  him, 
and  he  did  not  interfere.  And  if  Henry  II.  can  be  justly  con- 
sidered as  at  least  partly  guilty  of  the  murder  of  Beckett,  there 
is  equal  reason  for  holding  Fitzgerald  guilty  of  the  murder  of 
Allen.* 

A  cause  which  has  to  rely  for  success  on  popular  sympathy 
and  support  is  not  served  by  crime,  least  of  all  by  the  crime  of 
murder,  and  Allen's  tragic  fate  inspired  horror,  and  cast  a  dark 
shadow  on  the  prospects  of  Silken  Thomas.  But  for  the  time  there 
was  nothing  to  stay  his  progress,  nor  did  he  cease  until  he  had 
plundered  and  wasted  the  whole  territory  from  Dublin  to 
Drogheda.  It  was  then  that  he  appealed  to  his  cousin.  Lord 
James  Butler,  expressing  his  willingness  to  forget  their  ancient 
enmity  and  begging  him  to  join  him,  and  promising  that,  in  the 
event  of  success,  they  should  share  all  Ireland  between  them. 
Nothing  could  be  more  discouraging  than  the  reply  to  these 
overtures. f  Butler,  indeed,  confesses  a  reluctance  to  call  him 
cousin,  as  his  treason  and  "  lewdness  "  have  shamed  his  kindred. 
"  I  had  rather  (he  says)  in  this  quarrel  die  thine  enemy  than  live 
thy  partner.  For  the  kindness  you  proffer  me  and  good  love  in 
the  end  of  your  letter  the  best  return  I  can  make  is  to  advise 
you,  though  you  have  gone  far,  to  pause  ere  you  go  too  far. 
Ignorance  and  error  and  a  false  notion  of  duty  have  carried  you 
unaware  to  this  folly  but  not  so  far  that  you  may  not  retrieve 
your  error.  The  King  is  a  vessel  of  bounty  and  mercy  and  your 
words  against  him  shall  not  be  counted  malicious,  but  rather 
the  outcome  of  heat  and  thoughtlessness,  except  by  persevering 
in  your  present  course  you  prove  yourself  to  be  acting  mischiev- 
ously and  wilfully."  Such  advice  as  this,  it  might  be  said  such 
rebukes, were  ill  suited  to  the  fiery  temper  of  the  Geraldine,  and 
to  make  an  effective  and  suitable  retort,  he  entered  Butler's 
territory  and  wasted  it  with  fire  and  sword,  nor  were  the  forces  of 
Ossory  able  to  offer  an  effective  resistance. 

From  wasting  the  lands  of  his  relative  and  enemy  he  directed 
his  steps  towards  Dublin,  where  matters  of  urgent  importance 
demanded  his  presence.  Though  powerful  on  land  he  was  power- 
less on  sea,  and  the  ocean  highway  being  open,  messengers  were 
despatched  to  England,  begging  for  assistance  and  painting  in 
strong  colours  the  danger  which  hung  over  the  city.  Henry 
received  these  messengers  well,  commended  the  inhabitants  of 
Dublin  for  their  loyalty,  told  them  to  resist  the  rebel  and  that 

*  Ware's  Annals.     The  murder  was  committed  on  the  28th  July; 
t  Cox,  pp.  232-3. 


390  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

succour  would  soon  be  sent  them.  Thus  encouraged,  the  citizens 
rose  against  Fitzgerald's  soldiers,  besieged  in  turn  those  who 
were  besieging  Dublin  Castle,  and  when  Silken  Thomas  and  his 
army  appeared  again  before  the  walls,  the  gates  were  closed 
against  them,  their  friends  inside  were  already  prisoners,  and 
several  sallies  were  made  from  the  city  in  which  some  damage 
was  inflicted  on  the  besiegers,  and  in  which  one  Mores* 
is  specially  commended  for  his  courage.  To  capture  the  city 
Thomas  found  to  be  impossible.  He  had  taken  some  of  the 
citizens  prisoners  and  offered  to  exchange  them  with  his  own 
soldiers,  who  were  prisoners  within  the  city,  and  when  this  of^er 
was  accepted  he  raised  the  siege. | 

No  sooner  had  the  city  been  thus  relieved  than  the  ships 
with  reinforcements  from  England  were  seen  coming  up  the 
harbour.  Silken  Thomas  was  still  near  Dublin,  a  portion  of 
the  English  forces — i8o  in  all — landed  near  Howth  ;  and  these 
he  allowed  to  land  without  opposition,  then,  suddenly  falling 
upon  them,  he  cut  them  to  pieces,  killed  many,  and  took  the 
remainder  prisoners.  And,  in  addition,  one  of  his  followers 
captured  an  English  vessel  freighted  with  choice  English  geldings. 
\  et  this  success  was  only  partial  and  transient  and  could  not 
affect  the  final  issue  of  the  campaign.  Sir  William  Brereton 
and  500  men  landed  on  the  southern  shore  of  Dublin  Bay.  He 
was  followed  by  the  new  Lord  Deputy,  Sir  William  Skef^ington, 
and  the  whole  army  soon  entered  the  city,  where  they  were 
effusively  welcomed  by  the  citizens. J  Nor  was  this  all  that 
happened  to  dispirit  Silken  Thomas.  It  had  long  since  been 
ascertained  that  the  Earl  of  Kildare  had  not  been  executed,  and 
many  of  Fitzgerald's  followers  must  have  asked  themselves  what 
they  were  fighting  for,  and  why  should  they  continue  to  fight. 
For  the  murder  of  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  a  sentence  of 
excommunication  in  its  most  aggravated  form  had  been  published 
against  all  concerned  in  the  crime,  and  Thomas  was  mentioned 
by  name. II  This  must  have  driven  many  from  his  side,  as  they 
did  not  care  to  be  identified  with  a  man,  or  a  cause,  visited  with 
such  ecclesiastical  censures.  His  cousin,  Butler,  far  from  lending 
any  assistance,  was  intriguing  against  him  with  O'Brien  of 
Thomond.  The  efforts  to  give  the  rebellion  the  character  of  a 
religious  war  were  futile,  and  when   the  Emperor,  Charles  V, 

*  Hamilton's  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  p.  12.  Skeffington  tells  his 
friend,  Cromwell,  that  the  "  said  Mores  boldly  went  out  of  the  gates  of 
Dublin  and  with  his  own  hand   slew  divers  of  the  rebel's  best  footmen." 

t  Co.x,    pp.    235-7. 

\  Ibid.,  p.  238.  He  landed  on  the  nth  Octoberj  and  was  accompanied 
by  Lord  Leonard  Gray.     (Ware's  Annals?) 

II  State  Papers  (Henry  vill.),  Vol.  ll.,  pp.  217-19. 


THE   FOLLY   OF   SILKEN   THOMAS.  39 1 

and  the  Pope  were  appealed  to,  so  that  they  might  aid  in  striking 
down  a  King,  who  was  the  common  enemy  of  both,  they  gave 
some  vague  promises  of  assistance  but  they  gave  nothing  more.* 
When  Skeffington  arrived  from  England  the  year  was 
advanced,  and  he  determined  to  mature  his  plans  in  Dublin  and 
make  all  needful  preparations  and  open  the  campaign  in  the 
following  spring.  But  some  of  the  more  ardent  spirits  in  his 
army  were  impatient  of  this  delay  and  complained  to  the  govern- 
ment of  England  of  his  inactivity.  /\nd  they  had  good  grounds 
of  complaint,  for  Silken  Thomas,  aided  by  O'More  and  O'Connor 
of  Offaly,  was  sweeping  like  a  hurricane  through  Meath, 
destroying  the  property  of  those  in  sympathy  with  England. 
He  had  burned  Trim,  Dunboyne  and  Kells,  had  recaptured 
Kildare  and  garrisoned  his  castle  of  Maynooth.  Yet  Skeffington 
would  not  be  moved. f  He  was  more  capable  in  a  civil  than  in  a 
military  office,  he  was  old,  his  health  was  not  good,  and  the  fire 
and  energy  of  youth  were  extinguished  by  infirmity  and  age. 
Neither  entreaty  nor  menace  could  compel  him  to  commence 
operations  while  the  winter  lasted,  but  when  the  spring  came 
his  sluggishness  was  laid  aside.  With  his  whole  army  he  marched 
from  Dublin,  and  after  some  desultory  operations  of  minor  impor- 
tance in  Meath,  he  advanced  to  attack  the  castle  of  Maynooth. 
The  castle  was  the  richest  of  all  Kildare's  castles,  it  was  strongly 
built,  its  keep  was  considered  impregnable,  and  Silken  Thomas 
hoped  that  its  garrison  of  lOO  men  would  be  able  to  keep 
Skefifington  at  bay,  until  he  himself  would  come  to  its  relief. 
For  nine  days  the  siege  lasted  and  at  length,  on  the  23rd  March, 
1535)  the  heavy  ordnance  of  the  besiegers  had  made  so  large  a 
breach  in  the  wall  that  an  entry  was  effected.  In  the  attack 
which  followed  more  than  60  of  the  garrison  were  slain  ;  the 
remainder,  numbering  "i^y ^  were  taken  prisoners.  Two  days 
later  the  prisoners  were  tried  by  a  military  court  and  condemned 
to  death,  and  the  heads  of  the  principal  men  were  put  on  the 
turrets  of  the  castle,  t 


*   Leland,  Vol.  ll.,  p.    144. 

t  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  219-24.  Allen's  letter  to  Cromwell.  Also 
p.  226,  et  seq.,  further  Letter  from  Allen. 

+  Cox,  p.  239.  Ware's  Annals.  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  236.  Both 
Cox  and  Ware  have  a  story,  taken  it  seems,  from  the  same  source,  that  the 
captain  of  the  garrison — Paresse — foster  brother  to  Silken  Thomas — sur- 
rendered the  castle  for  a  bribe  and  yet  was  executed.  But  this  story  is 
evidently  untrue,  for  in  the  letter  sent  by  the  Deputy  and  Council  the 
very  day  after  the  execution  of  the  prisoners  (dated,  Maynooth,  26th  March), 
there  is  no  mention  of  this  treachery,  though  the  whole  particulars  of 
the  siege  and  capture  of  the  place  are  given,  and  Paresse  is  mentioned  by 
name. 


392  HISTORY   OF    IRELAND 

Silken  Thomas  was  not  far  off  when  the  castle  of  Maynooth 
fell  into  the  enemy's  hands.  He  was  rapidly  advancing  to  its 
relief  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  7000  men,  drawn  principally 
from  Connaught,  but  the  news  that  Maynooth  had  fallen  stayed 
his  further  advance,  and  so  disheartened  his  followers  that  most 
of  them  abandoned  him.  He  made  his  way  to  Thomond,  secure 
of  an  asylum  there  from  O'Brien,  and  perhaps  also,  of  assistance 
in  prosecuting  the  war.  And  he  would,  perhaps,  have  got  help 
but  that  his  cousin,  Butler,  had  stirred  up  strife  in  Thomond  and 
had  urged  Donogh  O'Brien  to  .claim  the  chieftaincy  of  the 
province,*  and  the  ruling  chief,  compelled  to  defend  his  position 
at  home,  was  unable  to  give  any  assistance  to  Fitzgerald.  In 
Desmond,  also,  Butler  had  been  active,  and  had  induced  the 
Earl  of  Desmond  to  take  no  part  in  the  war,  and  for  Silken 
Thomas  to  look  for  aid  in  that  quarter  was  vain.  In  addition 
to  this  his  old  friend  and  ally,  O'More  of  Leix,  was  induced  or 
terrorised  by  the  Earl  of  Ossory  to  desert  him.  But  he  had 
still  some  forces,  and  his  resources  were  by  no  means  exhausted. 
O'Connor  of  Offaly  and  O'Carroll  were  still  ready  to  stand  by 
him,  and  joined  to  these  he  was  soon  again  at  the  head  of  a 
fresh  army.  In  the  meantime  Skefifington  was  inactive.  He 
had  got  ill  after  the  capture  of  Maynooth  and  rested  there 
for  some  time,  nor  did  he,  even  when  he  got  well,  follow  up  the 
advantages  he  had  gained.  While  he  remained  idle,  Silken 
Thomas  was  wasting  the  Pale.  In  addition,  a  report  was 
circulated  that  both  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  were  on  the  point 
of  coming  to  his  assistance.!  This  darkening  prospect  alarmed 
the  English  of  the  Pale;  they  complained  of  Skeffington's  inactivity 
and  messengers  were  sent  to  England  demanding  that  he  be 
superseded,  and  Lord  Leonard  Gray,  whose  abilities  were 
recognised,  be  appointed  in  his  place. ^  This  prayer  was  in 
part  granted  and  in  August,  1535,  Lord  Leonard  Gray,  was 
given  supreme  military  command  though  Skeffington  was 
still  continued  as  Deputy.  But  Gray's  authority  in  military 
matters  was  unlimited,  what  he  was  to  do  was  left  entirely  to  his 
own  discretion,  and  he  pursued  the  campaign  with  such  vigour 
and  success  that  the  allies  of  Silken  Thomas  were  forced  to 
abandon  him.  At  length  O'Connor  of  Offaly,  who  had  stood 
by  him  longest,  submitted,  and  finally  Thomas  himself,  reduced 
to  the  last  extremity,  sent  a  message  to  Gray  that  he  was  willing 
to  submit  on  terms.      The  terms  he  asked  were  his    life  to  be 


*  This  Donogh  O'Brien  was  nephew  to  the  Chief  of  Thomond,  and 
married  to  a  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Ossory.    (State  Papers,  pp.  171-230,) 
t  State  Papers,  p.   247. 
+  Ibid.,  pp.   266,  et  seq.  • 


THE   FOLLY   OF    SILKEN   THOMAS.  393 

spared  and  his  lands  left  him,  nor  is  it  likely  that  he  would  submit 
without  at  least  a  promise  of  his  life,  yet  Skef^ngton  stated  that 
he  submitted  "  without  condition."*  This  was  the  end  of  the 
rebellion.  Lord  Gray  with  the  unfortunate  prisoner  proceeded 
to  England,  and  soon  after  Silken  Thomas  found  himself  lodged 
in  the  Tower. 

Henry  VIII.  was  glad  that  the  rebellion  was  suppressed 
and  that  the  audacious  rebel  was  at  last  in  his  power,  and  he 
wrote  a  letter  of  thanks  to  the  Deputy.  Yet  his  satisfaction 
was  not  complete.  What  he  wanted  was  unconditional  surrender 
on  the  part  of  Silken  Thom.as  ;  he  did  not  approve  of  any 
conditions  being  attached  and  told  the  Deputy  that  if  Fitzgerald 
"  had  been  apprehended  after  such  sort  as  was  convenable  to 
his  deservings  the  same  had  been  much  more  thankful  and 
better  to  our  contentacion."  f  It  was  quite  evident  that  the 
unfortunate  Geraldine  would  have  to  atone  for  his  rebellion, 
with  the  sacrifice  of  his  life,  although  Norfolk  had  advised  that 
the  conditions  made  with  him  by  Gray  and  Lord  James  Butler 
be  kept,  otherwise  no  Irishman  would  ever  again  trust  himself 
to  an  Englishman,  or  believe  in  his  promises. J  This  advice 
Henry  did  not  take,  nor  was  his  ferocious  rage  satisfied  with 
the  blood  of  a  single  victim.  He  wished  to  extirpate  the  whole 
Fitzgerald  family,  and  he  found  a  ready  instrument  of  his  will. 
On  the  last  day  of  the  year  (1535),  Sir  William  Skefiftngton 
had  died  at  Kilmainham,  and  Lord  Leonard  Gray  had  been 
appointed  his  successor.  He  was  but  a  short  time  in  of^ce  when, 
under  the  pretext  of  friendship,  he  invited  the  five  uncles  of 
Silken  Thomas  to  a  banquet  at  Dublin.  They  went,  fearing 
as  little  as  did  O'Connor  of  Of^aly  in  former  days,  when  invited 
to  a  banquet  by  Birmingham,  the  "  treacherous  Baron."  They 
were  treated  with  similar  treachery,  for  Gray  arrested  them 
and  sent  them  prisoners  to  England,  where,  as  well  as  their 
nephew,  they  were  imprisoned  in  the  Tower  of  London.  They 
were  conveyed  to  England  in  a  vessel  called  the  Cow,  and  this 
proved  to  be  a  source  of  serious  alarm  to  them,  as  they  had 
heard  of  a  prophecy  which  said — That  an  Earl's  five  sons  should 
in  time  to  come  be  wafted  for  England  in  a  cow's  belly  but 
should  never  return.  ||     The  fate  of  Henry's  prisoners  was  not 

*  State  Papers,  p.  274.  Skeffington's  letter  bears  date  24th  August, 
1535.     The  rebellion  was  then  over. 

f  From  this  it  appears  that  Fitzgerald  did  NOT  surrender  as  Skeffington 
declared,  "  without  condition,"  and  the  same  appears  from  the  letter  of  the 
Privy  Council,  and  also  from  Norfolk's  letter  to  Cromwell.  (State  Papers^ 
pp.  275-8,  280.) 

I  State    Papers,   p.    277. 

II  Ware's  Annals.      Leland,  Vol.  II.,  p.  153.     State  Papers,  pp.    304-5 


394  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

a  pleasant  one,  and  has  been  justly  described  as  a  condition 
in  which  they  were  lodged  like  hogs  and  fed  like  dogs,*  and 
the  pitiable  state  to  which  Silken  Thomas  was  reduced  would 
move  the  hardest  heart  to  compassion.  In  a  letter  from  the 
Tower,  which  he  wrote  to  his  friend  O'Brien  of  Thomond,t 
he  begged  him  to  send  him  ;^20  for  the  purpose  of  procuring 
food  and  clothes.  And  he  told  his  friend,  Rothe,  that  since  he 
came  to  London  he  had  got  no  money,  that  he  was  without  either 
stockings  or  shoes,  that  he  had  no  shirt  but  one,  and  that 
instead  of  a  velvet  cloak  furred  with  lambskin  fur,  he  had  no 
garment  but'a  single  frieze  cloak,  that  repeatedly,  during  the 
severity  of  winter,  he  had  gone  bare-footed  and  barelegged  and 
that  he  would  have  to  go  naked  but  for  the  charity  of  some 
of  his  fellow-prisoners,  who  had  given  him  old  socks  and  shoes 
and  shirts.  To  such  a  condition  of  poverty  and  hunger  and 
nakedness  was  that  young  noble  reduced  who  had  so  long  known 
the  comforts  and  even  splendour  of  luxury  and  power.  His 
father  was  already  dead— the  knowledge  of  his  son's  folly  had 
killed  him — his  uncles  were  his  fellow-prisoners  and  were  no 
doubt  reduced  to  the  same  pitiable  condition  as  himself,  and, 
broken  in  spirit,  it  must  have  been  a  relief  to  his  tortured  mind 
that  on  the  3rd  February,  1537,  he  and  his  five  uncles  were 
led  forth  from  their  prison  and  executed  together  at  Tyburn.  I 
Three  of  these  uncles  had  opposed  their  nephew  in  his  rebellion, 
but  it  mattered  not  :  they  were  of  the  Fitzgerald  family,  in 
Henry's  eyes  this  made  them  enemies  of  the  State,  and  as  such 
they  deserved   to  be  sacrificed. 

Henry's  rage  was  even  yet  unappeased,  for  there  still  remained 
a  son  of  the  late  Earl  of  Kildare,  a  boy  twelve  years  of  age  and 
named,  like  his  father,  Gerald.  When  his  uncles  were  seized 
and  sent  to  England  the  lad  was  ill  in  one  of  his  father's  castles 
in  Kildare.  His  mother  was  in  England.  He  was  in  charge  of 
his  tutor,  a  priest  named  Leverus,||  and  this  faithful  friend  rightly 
judging  that  his  pupil's  life  would  be  sought  had  him  secretly 
sent  to  O'Brien  of  Thomond,**  Even  there  he  was  not  safe. 
O'Brien  wished  to  befriend  him  and  was  willing  to  defend  him, 
and  for  a  time  the  boy's  place  of  residence  was  kept  secret  and 
was  changed  from  time  to  time.  But  it  could  not  always  be 
kept  thus  secret,  for  there  were  spies  on  his  track.     And  Gray, 

*  Gasquet.     Henry    VIII.,   and  the  English    Monasteries,   p.   4. 

t  State  Papers,  pp.  402-3. 

X  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  429. 

II  He  was  afterwards  Bishop  of  Kildare,  and,  refusing  to  take  the  oath 
of   supremacy   (1559),   was  deprived   of   his  diocese.     (Ware's  Bishops.) 

**  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  363.  He  was  in  Thomond  in  1536,  and 
O'Brien   refused    the  Irish  Council's  demand   to  give  him   up. 


THE   FOLLY    OF   SILKEN    THOMAS.  395 

the  Lord  Deputy,  though  he  was  young  Gerald's  uncle,  was  more 
anxious  to  curry  favour  with  his  royal  master  than  to  defend 
his  nephew,  and  Henry  would  not  be  satisfied  until  the  lad  was 
in  his  power.*  Unable  to  conceal  his  whereabouts  and  doubtful 
of  his  capacity  to  defend  him  against  a  leader  so  skilful  and  daring 
as  Gray,  and  with  such  resources  at  his  command,  and  no  doubt 
anxious  besides  to  save  his  province  from  the  horrors  of  war, 
O'Brien  sent  young  Gerald  to  his  aunt  in  Cork — Lady  Eleanor 
MacCarthy.  She  had  been  married  to  MacCarthy  of  Carbry, 
she  was  now  a  widow,  and  just  at  the  time  (1538),  received 
an  offer  of  marriage  from  Manus  O'Donnell,  the  chieftain 
of  Tirconnell.  She  was  devotedh^  attached  to  her  nephew, 
and  perhaps  more  for  his  sake  than  for  her  own  she  accepted 
the  ofTer,  and  both  aunt  and  nephew  set  out  from  Cork  to 
Tirconnell.  On  their  march  through  Desmond  and  Connaught 
they  were  treated  with  every  mark  of  respect.  It  was  well- 
known  that  the  boy  was  an  object  of  special  detestation  to  Henry, 
that  those  who  treated  him  with  respect,  and  still  more  favoured 
his  escape,  would  earn  the  King's  enmity,  and  that,  on  the  other 
hand,  whoever  betrayed  him  was  sure  that  pecuniary  reward 
and  royal  favours  awaited  him.  Yet,  neither  menaces  nor 
bribes,  neither  fear  of  the  King's  anger  nor  hope  of  his  favours 
was  sufficient  to  procure  the  boy's  betrayal,  and  both  himself 
and  his  aunt  arrived  safely  at  Tirconnell,  where  Lady  Eleanor 
and  O'Donnell   were  married. | 

The  pursuit  and  persecution  of  this  boy  irritated  the  Irish 
chiefs.  The  Geraldines  were  popular.  They  had  become 
thoroughly  Irish,  with  the  faults  and  virtues  of  Irish  chiefs, 
and  it  did  seem  hard  that  a  lad,  who  had  committed  no  crime, 
and  whose  )'Outh  and  innocence  might  have  shielded  him  from 
harm,  should  be  punished  because  of  his  brother's  folly,  and  thus 
persecuted  and  hunted  down  in  his  native  land.  Laying  aside 
for  the  moment  their  ancient  jealousies,  the  Irish  chiefs  formed 
what  was  called  the  First  Geraldine  League,  the  object  being 
to  protect  young  Gerald  Fitzgerald  and  ultimately  to  restore 
him  to  his  father's  estates  ;  and  to  make  sure  of  his  personal 
safety  he  was  assigned  a  body-guard  of  twenty-four  horsemen, 
who  were  to  accompany  him  wherever  he  went.  J      The  members 

*  He  was  offered  the  King's  pardon  and  to  be  the  King's  "  true  and 
loving  subject,"  but  the  fate  of  his  uncles  and  brother  was  recent,  and  his 
advisers  did  not  think  it  wise  that  he  should  trust  himself  to  such  promises. 
{State  Papers,    Vol.  11.,  p.  537.) 

t  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.,   p.   28. 

+  Ibid.,  p.  44.  (Ormond's  letter  to  the  Irish  Council).  Ormond 
says  that  young  Gerald  was  to  be  sent  to  the  King  of  Scotland  for  what 
purpose  he  could  not  tell. 


396  HISTORY    Oi'    IRELAND. 

of  the  League  were  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  in  the  north,  the 
Connaught  chiefs,  O'Brien  and  Desmond  in  the  south,  and  with 
them  would  be  O'Connor  of  Offaly  and  O'Carroll,  who  were 
young  Gerald's  relatives.  This  was  unpleasant  news  both  to 
the  Deputy  and  the  King.  What  Henry  would  have  wished 
was  to  see  these  chiefs  quarrelling,  but  unity,  and,  above  all,  unity 
to  protect  young  Gerald,  he  both  hated  and  feared.  But  he 
was  stubborn  and  persistent  and  not  easily  baulked  of  his  prey. 
The  Deputy  was  eager  to  carry  out  his  wishes  and  even  to  anticipate 
them,  and  despairing  of  taking  young  Fitzgerald  by  force,  he 
was  ready  to  employ  treachery  and  hoped  that  by  treachery 
he  would  succeed.  He  invited  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  to  a 
friendly  council  near  Dundalk  (1539),  to  which  they  promised 
to  bring  young  Gerald.  But  the  two  northern  chiefs,  perhaps, 
because  they  had  reason  to  suspect  that  treachery  was  intended, 
declined  coming  to  the  conference  at  all,  and  Gray  was  dis- 
appointed and  baffled,  for  his  treacherous  plans  had  failed. 
He  candidly  told  his  master,  Henry  VHL,  what  he  intended. 
"  And  if  they  had  kept  appointment  with  me  having  young 
Gerald  with  them,  howsoever  the  thing  had  chanced,  by  the 
oath  that  I  have  made  unto  your  Grace  they  should  have  left 
the  young   Gerald   behind   them  quick  or  dead."  * 

O'Donnell  had  so  far  been  a  faithful  member  of  the  Geraldine 
League,  but  his  wife  thought  she  had  reason  to  suspect  his 
fidelity,  and  that  perhaps  he  would  betray  her  nephew,  and 
it  was  time  to  take  alarm  when  the  Irish  Council  could  tell 
Henry  YHL  that  they  had  secured  the  friendship  of  O'Donnell, 
as  well  as  O'Neill. t  To  ensure  the  lad's  safety  he  was  put  on 
board  a  vessel  bound  for  St.  Malo,  disguised  as  a  peasant  and  having 
with  him  his  faithful  tutor  (Leverus),  besides  two  others.  But 
even  in  France  he  was  not  safe.  A  certain  person  named 
Warner  was  directed  to  proceed  to  Rennes  and  watch  his  move- 
ments, and  report  everything  to  the  British  Ambassador  at  Paris. + 
Wherever  the  young  lad  went  he  was  followed  by  Henry's 
spies,  he  had  frequently  to  change  his  place  of  residence,  and 
though  he  was  treated  with  kindness  everywhere  and  received 
every  mark  of  respect,  |i  yet  he  did  not  feel  secure  in  France  and 
finally  made  his  way  to  Rome.     His  kinsman.  Cardinal  Pole,** 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.,  p.    127. 
t  Ibid.,  p.    196. 

X  Ibid.,  pp.   211-13. 

II  Even  the  spy  Warner  declares  that  he  was  a  "  very  proper  young 
gentleman." 

*  *  If  one  Cardinal  (Wolsey),  treated  the  Fitzgeralds  with  harshness  and 
injustice,  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  another  Cardinal  (Pole),  expiated 
Wolsey's  enmity  to  the  house  of  Kildarc.     (Meehan's  Geraldines,  p.  55.) 


THE   FOLLY   OF   SILKEN   THOMAS.  397 

was  able  to  protect  him  there,  surrounded  him  with  everything 
he  required,  had  him  educated  as  became  his  position  ;  and 
when  Henry  VIII.  was  dead  and  his  son  sat  on  the  throne,  Gerald 
Fitzgerald  was  allowed  to  return  from  exile  (1552),  and  was 
restored  to  his  possessions,  and,  two  years  later,  he  became  Earl 
of  Kildare. 


CHAPTER  XXVI II. 
Henry  Becomes  Ki)ig  of  Ireland. 

-'State  of  Ireland  and  Plan  for  its  Reformation  " — The  Pale — Black  Rents — 
Native  chiefs — "  Degenerate  English  "  —  St.  Bridget  and  -"^her 
Guardian  Angel — The  Pander's  advice  to  Henry  VIII — Ireland  des- 
cribed by  Finglas — Henry's  knowledge  of  the  country  and  his  anxiety 
about  it — His  difficulties — Determines  to  conquer  it — Strength  and 
weakness  of  the  Irish  chiefs — The  Anglo-Irish — King  Henry's  strength 
— His  nobles — His  Parliament— His  pecuniary  resources — O'Brien 
of  Thomond  attacked — Lord  Gray's  preparations— His  forces — Capture 
of  O'Brien's-Bridge — The  English  soldiers  mutiny — O'Connor  of 
Offaly  attacked — Condition  of  Leinster — O'Neill  and  O'Donnell — 
Battle  of  Bellahoe— -Gray  in  Tirowen — His  journey  to  Galway — 
His  relations  with  the  Irish  Council — Returns  to  England — Convicted 
and  executed — His  successor  Brereton — St.  Leger  appointed  Deputy — 
His  policy  of  conciliation — Submission  of  the  chiefs — Henry  pro- 
claimed King  of  Ireland — The  Irish  chiefs  get  titles  from  him — Terms 
of  their  submission — The  old  system  and  the  new — Henry's  policy — 
Its  success — His  power  in  Ireland. 

Among  the  State  Papers  relating  to  Ireland  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIH.,  the  first  place  is  given  to  one  written  in  15  15, 
and  which  describes  the  state  of  Ireland  at  that  date,  and  in 
addition  furnishes  a  plan  for  its  reformation.*  The  writer  is 
unknown  but  he  signs  himself  Panderus,  or  the  Pander,  f  He 
was  probably  an  Englishman, his  sympathies  are  strongly  English, 
his  views  are  English,  his  desire  was  to  see  all  Ireland  brought 
effectually  under  English  rule,  and  his  plan  of  reformation 
was  drawn  up  for  that  purpose.  The  story  he  has  to  tell,  in 
itself  is  not  an  agreeable  one,  and  it  must  have  been 
humiliating  to  England,  for  it  is  the  story  of  its  failure  in  Ireland 
so  far.  Three  centuries  and  a  half  had  passed  since  Henry  II. 
spent  Christmas  in  his  wickerwork  palace  in  Hoggin  Green 
and  had  feasted    the  Irish  chiefs,  almost  all  of  whom  had  sub- 


*  State  Papers  ;  (Henry  VIII.),  Vol.  II.,  pp.-  1-3 1: 

I  He  lived  during  the  reigns  of  Edward  IV.,  Ed.  V.,j^Richard  III.,  Henry 
VII.,  and  Henry  VIII.     (Ware's  Writers,  p.  90.) 


HENRY    BECOMES    KING   OF   IRELAND  399 

mitted  to  him  as  their  king.  And  it  was  the  fashion  to  speak 
of  that  monarch  as  the  conqueror  of  Ireland.  But  in  the 
sixteenth  century  so  far  was  it  from  being  conquered  that 
but  a  small  district  on  the  east  coast  acknowledged  the  supremacy 
of  England  and  was  subject  to  its  laws.  A  line  drawn  from 
Dundalk  to  Kells,  through  Ardee,  from  Kells  to  Trim  and  Kilcock, 
then  southward  to  Naas,  and  eastward  from  Naas  to  Rathcoole 
and  Tallaght,  ending  at  Dalkey  on  the  coast,  marked  the 
boundaries  of  the  Pale.  It  was  a  small  and  contracted  area, 
not  more  than  half  of  the  modern  counties  of  Louth  and  Meath, 
but  a  small  portion  of  Kildare,  and  something  more  than  half 
of  the  county  of  Dublin.  Within  this  area  dwelt  the  English 
subjects, — some  English  by  birth,  many  English  by  descent, 
but  all  recognising  the  supremacy  of  England,  acknowledging 
themselves  as  its  subjects,  accepting  its  laws,  and  demanding 
from  it  that  protection  of  life  and  security  of  property  which 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  government  to  give  its  subjects. 

Yet,  these  English  subjects  were  not  happy,  nor  was  their 
condition,  compared  to  the  purely  Irish  outside,  anything  to 
be  envied.  The  number  of  officials  was  large,  much  larger 
than  was  required  or  desirable  for  so  small  a  territory,  and  these 
officials,  eager  to  enrich  themselves,  harassed  the  people  with 
their  exactions.  In  spite  of  all  the  enactments  against  coyne 
and  livery,  the  people  of  the  Pale  were  often  made  familiar  with 
both,  for  money  came  but  slowly  and  reluctantly  from  England, 
expeditions  had  to  be  made  against  the  neighbouring  Irish, 
whose  inroads  were  often  destructive,  and  when  money  was 
not  to  be  had  for  the  payment  of  the  army  they  had  to  be  paid 
by  coyne  and  livery.  A  subsidy  was  sometimes  demanded  by 
the  English  king  from  his  Irish  subjects,  and  loyalty  urged  them 
to  satisfy  his  demands.  Finally,  there  was  the  payment  of 
large  sums  by  way  of  Black  Rent,  for  the  Irish  chiefs  were  restless, 
and  to  purchase  quietness  from  them  it  was  necessary  that  they 
should  be  paid.  From  Down,  O'Neill  of  Clanneboy  got  £40  a 
year  ;  a  like  sum  was  paid  by  Louth  to  O'Neill  of  Tirowen,  while 
from  Meath,  O'Connor  of  Offaly  got  the  large  sum  of  ^300  a 
year,  and  i^20  a  year  from  Kildare.  Scattered  over  the  country 
were  a  few  walled  towns,  especially  the  seaports,  where  English 
subjects  dwelt  and  English  laws  were  obeyed,  and  these, 
surrounded  by  the  native  Irish,  were  compelled  to  purchase  their 
good  will.  Wexford  paid  Black  Rent  to  MacMurrogh,  Kilkenny 
and  Tipperary  to  O'Carroll,  Cork  to  MacCarthy,  and  Limerick 
had  to  pay  ^^40  a  year  to  O'Brien  of  Ara  and  a  like  sum  to  O'Brien 
of  Thomond.*     The  remainder  of  the  country  was  held  by  sixty 

*  Siaie  Papers,  p.  9. 


400  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

chiefs  of  Irish  descent  and  thirty  of  English  descent,  and  each 
of  these  Irish  chiefs  held  by  the  sword  and  made  peace  and  war 
as  he   pleased. 

The  chiefs  of  English  descent  made  peace  and  war  in  the 
same  way.  They  had  ceased  to  be  England's  subjects  or  to 
recognise  its  laws.  They  intermarried  with  the  Irish,  adopted 
Irish  customs,  spoke  the  Irish  tongue.  Each  of  them  had 
his  brehon  to  administer  the  law,  and  each  had  an  Irish  harper 
in  his  hall.  Such  as  these  were  referred  to  by  the  English  as 
degenerate  English,  for  they  certainly  had  fallen  away  from 
English  ways.  Such  was  the  case  with  the  Earl  of  Desmond 
in  Munster,  and  his  kinsmen,  the  Fitzgeralds,  Sir  John,  Sir 
Thomas  and  Sir  Gerald  of  Desmond,  as  also  the  Barrys,  the 
Roches,  the  Cogans,  the  De  Courcys,  and  Barrets  of  Cork,  and 
the  Powers  of  Waterford.  In  Connaught  the  Burkes  and 
Birminghams  and  Stantons  and  Jordans,  and  Nangles,  and 
Barrets  and  Prendergasts  were  as  Irish  as  the  O'Connors  or 
the  O'Kellys.  In  Ulster  the  case  was  similar  with  the  Savages 
and  the  Russels.  And  in  Meath,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  Pale  itself,  were  the  Dillons,  the  D'Altons,  the  Tyrells  and 
Delameres  and  Tuites,  no  longer  holding  their  lands  by 
English  tenure,  but  each  in  the  Irish  fashion  being  called  the 
captain  of  his  nation.* 

The  Pander  laments  that  such  is  the  existing  state  of  things 
and  attributes  the  falling  away  of  these  Anglo-Irish  to  the  fact 
that  the  central  government  at  Dublin  was  weak  and  ill 
supported  from  England,  and  that  they  adopted  Irish  habits 
and  followed  Irish  ways  as  the  best  way  to  protect  themselves. 
Nor  does  he  look  to  the  future  with  much  hope.  He  quotes 
an  old  proverb  which  speaks  of  the  pride  of  France,  the  treason 
of  England  and  the  wars  of  Ireland.^  He  lays  it  down  that  coyne 
and  livery  will  never  cease  to  be  exacted  from  English  subjects 
until  the  Irish  cease  from  their  wars,  that  the  Irish  wars  will 
never  cease,  and  therefore,  it  necessarily  follows,  that  coyne 
and  livery  will  never  cease.  He  recalls  that  St.  Bridget  once 
asked  of  her  guardian  angel  from  what  Christian  land  most 
souls  would  be  damned,  and  that  he  replied  it  was  a  land  in 
the  western  part  of  the  world,  where  there  was  continual  war, 
from  which  land  souls  fell  into  hell  as  thick  as  showers  of  hail. 
And  he  has  no  doubt  that  this  land  is  Ireland.  "  Wherefore 
(he  says),  it  cannot   be  denyed  by  every  estymation  of  man  but 


*  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  pp.   5,  25-6. 

f  Ibid.,  p.  1 1.  He  thinks  the  war  will  never  have  an  end  unless  "  Godde 
sett  in  mennes  brestes  to  fynde  some  newe  remedye  that  never  was  founde 
before." 


HENRY   BECOMES   KING   OF  IRELAND.  4OI 

that  the  angell  dyd  understande  the  lande  of  Ireland."*  His 
only  hope  is  that  the  King  would  take  the  reformation  of  the 
country  seriously  in  hand.  He  points  out  that  such  is  his  duty, 
and  to  encourage  him  he  prophecies  that  if  he  did,  with  the 
army  of  England  and  Ireland,  he  would  be  able  to  subdue  France, 
rescue  the  Greeks,  recover  the  city  of  Constantinople,  vanquish 
the  Turks,  win  the  Holy  Cross  and  the  Holy  Land,  and  die 
Emperor  of  Rome,  and   "  eternal  bliss  shall  be  his  end."  f 

So  glittering  a  prospect  ought  to  have  roused  to  action  a 
man  even  less  ambitious  than  Henry  VIII.,  but  apparently 
he  had  little  faith  in  the  prophet  or  his  prophecy — for  prophecies 
are  often  made  and  seldom  fulfilled — and  Ireland  for  the  next 
few  years  occupied  but  a  small  share  of  his  thoughts,  which 
were  concerned  with  greater  things.  The  ability  of  Surrey 
might  have  acomplished  much  if  he  had  been  supported  by 
England,  and  if  his  plans  had  been  adopted  and  carried  out, 
but  his  success  in  the  subjugation  of  Ireland  was  only  partial 
and  incomplete,  and  the  effects  transitory  and  unimportant. 
After  he  left  Ireland  the  country  was  allowed  once  more  to 
drift.  The  English  colony,  alternately  ruled  by  Geraldine 
and  Butler,  was  ruined  by  both,  and  when  another  writer  |  under- 
took to  describe  Ireland  from  what  he  saw  and  knew  (1534), 
the  country  was  in  the  same  condition  as  it  was  twenty  years 
before.  The  limits  of  the  Pale  were  still  the  same  and  so  was  the 
condition  of  its  people.  If  anything,  it  had  become  more  Irish. 
As  in  the  purely  Irish  districts,  war  was  made,  and  peace,  on 
individual  initiative  and  without  consultation  with  the  Deputy, 
or  his  Council.  Irish  dress  was  worn,  coyne  and  livery  were 
exacted,  the  Irish  tongue  was  spoken,  Irish  senachies  compiled 
their  genealogies  for  the  subjects  of  an  English  king,  Irish  bards 
sounded  their  praises  or,  perhaps,  satirized  their  foes,  and  Irish 
minstrels  and  harpers  were  still  welcome  in  their  feudal  halls. 
Finglas  himself  was  an  official  ||  and,  perhaps,  on  that  account, 
conceals  much  of  the  exactions  and  greediness  of  his  class,  but 
it  may  be  assumed  that  their  rapacity  remained  unchanged. 
All  Ulster  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Irish  chiefs,  and  the  King,  who 
was,  by  descent,  heir  to  the  Ulster  Earldom,**   had  lost  all  his 

*  State  Papers,  p.    11. 

t  Ibid.,  p.   31. 

\  This  was  Finglas,  who  wrote  "  A  Breviate  of  the  getting  of  Ireland 
and  of  the  decay  of  the  same."  It  is  the  4th  of  the  tracts  in  Harris's 
Hibernica,  pp.  79-103. 

II  He  was  chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  and  was  promoted  from  that 
office  to  be  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  May  8th,  1534.  (Morrin, 
Calendar  of  the  Patent  Rolls,  p.  12.) 

**As  the  descendant  of  the  Duke  of  C  arence  and  Elizabeth  de  Burgho. 

2D 


402  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

inheritance  in  that  province  except  tlie  single  manor  of 
Carlingford.  From  Connaught  lie  received  nothing  whatever, 
nor  did  he  from  Munster,  where  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  Irish 
in  dress  and  language  and  habits  and  surrounded  by  Irish 
retainers,  lived  as  an  independent  prince,  and  had  a  prince's 
revenue.  Even  the  Kildare  Geraldines  and  the  Butler's, 
though  invested  from  time  to  time  with  the  ofifice  of  Lord  Deputy, 
were  more  Irish  than  English,  exacted  coyne  and  livery,  ruled 
their  own  territory  like  independent  chiefs,  and  were  not 
obedient  to  English  laws.  The  various  chiefs  on  the  borders 
of  the  Pale,  such  as  O'Neill  and  O'Connor  of  Offaly,  were  still 
paid  their  Black  Rents.  Finglas,  indeed,  speaks  of  the  weak- 
ness of  MacMurrogh  and  O'Byrne  and  O'Toole,  and  of  the 
ease  with  which  they  might  be  subdued.  Yet,  MacMurrogh 
was  still  paid  his  yearly  allowance  out  of  the  King's  Treasury, 
and  it  may  be  assumed  it  v/as  not  because  he  was  loved,  but 
because  he  was   feared. 

Henry  VIII.  was  kept  accurately  informed  from  time  to 
time  as  to  the  condition  of  Ireland.  The  letters  of  Surrey  in 
particular  were  many,  the  information  he  supplied  accurate 
and  full,  and  the  suggestions  he  made  were  characterised  by 
wisdom  and  statesmanship.  The  King  was  not  slow  to  learn, 
and  in  his  letter  to  Skeffington  (1529),*  there  is  evidence  that 
the  miseries  of  the  Pale  and  the  obstacles  to  the  advancement 
of  English  power  in  Ireland  are  not  unknown  to  him — the 
squabbles  and  jealousies  between  Desmond  and  Ormond  and 
Kildare,  the  difficulties  of  subduing  the  native  chiefs,  the 
sufferings  the  English  subjects  endured  from  coyne  and  livery. 
Nor  could  it  be  anything  else  to  him  than  a  matter  of  humiliation 
and  anxiety  that  Ireland  was  in  such  a  condition.  The  genius 
of  Wolsey  had  exalted  England  to  a  high  position  among  the 
great  nations  of  the  Continent.  From  being  "  an  upstart 
trying  to  claim  for  herself  a  decent  position  in  the  august  society 
of  European  vStates,")  she  had  risen  to  the  dignity  of  one  of  the 
great  powers,  whose  alliance  was  courted,  whose  power  was 
felt,  whose  influence  was  recognised,  whose  enmity  was  feared. 
But  to  France  and  Spain  and  the  Empire  she  was  an  upstart 
still.  If  one  of  these  powers  obtained  the  assistance  of  England, 
they  were  ready  to  flatter  and  caress,  but  if  they  found  her 
among  their  foes  they  spoke  of  her  as  an  upstart  and  a  parvenu 
among  the  nations,  and  her  king  was  told  to  complete  the  conquest 
of  Ireland,  if  he  could,  and  leave  Continental  affairs  to  the 
continental  powers.      Such  words  had  been  used  by  the  German 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  147- 150; 
f  Creigh ton's  Cardinal  Wolsey,  p.  3. 


HENRY  BECOMES   KING   OF   IRELAND.  4O3 

princes  to  Richard  II.,  and   there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  but  that 
some  such  sneers  were  flung  at  Henry  VIII.      But  if  Ireland 
was  thus  the  cause  of  mortifying  the  King's  vanity,  she  was  to 
him  a  source  of  danger  as  well.     O'Donnell  had  intrigued  with 
the  King  of  Scotland  against  England.      The  Earl  of  Desmond 
had  been  in  treasonable  correspondence  both  with  the  Emperor 
and    the    French    monarch.      O'Neill    of    Tirowen    had    acted 
similarly  ;  and  when   Silken  Thomas  broke  out  into  rebellion  he 
appealed    for    continental    aid.       A    French    or    German    army, 
in  alliance  with  an  Irish  chief  or  combination  of  chiefs,  would 
have    easily  overrun    the    Pale    and    extinguished    the    feeble 
remnant  of  English  power,  and  the  whole  resources  of  England 
would   have  been   taxed   to  recover   Ireland   from   their   grasp. 
But  in  such  circumstances,  no  matter  what  the  cost,  it  would 
be  necessary   that   it   should   be   reconquered,   for   Ireland,   the 
subject  or  independent  ally  of  a   continental  power,   would  lower 
the  prestige  of  England  and  even  be  a  menace  to  its    existence. 
Henry  VIII.  was  not  blind  to  these  dangers.      He  sent    men 
and  money  to  Ireland  for  the  conquest  of  the  land,    urged  each 
successive  Deputy  to  prosecute  the  work  with    vigour,  watched 
with  anxiety  how  they  progressed  and  was  irritated  and  impatient 
when  they  did  not  succeed.      The  magnitude  of  the  task  was 
made  apparent  to  him,    when  the  rebellion  of  Silken  Thomas 
cost  his  Treasury  the  sum  of    ;6"40,ooo.*        This  rebellion  was 
entered   into   without   sufficient   thought   and   with   inadequate 
preparation  ;   it  was   carried  out  on    no  well   considered   plan  ; 
the   warfare   was   desultory   and     intermittent ;   and   its   leader 
had   neither  experience  nor  talents.     He  was   without   money, 
his  soldiers  were  without  discipline,  and  he  received  but  partial 
support  from  the  native  chiefs.      And  if  it  was  so    expensive 
and  so  difficult  to    put  down  such  a  rebellion,  what  sacrifices 
would   it   not    entail   to   conquer   the  whole  land  ?      .  et   these 
sacrifices   Henry   should   make,   for   the   time   had   come   when 
England  should  abandon  Ireland  altogether  or  conquer  it.     The 
latter  course  was    determined  on,  and  as  soon  as    Lord  Thomas 
Fitzgerald  and  his  uncles  were  safely  lodged    in  the  Tower  of 
London,    the   Lord   Deputy   Gray    proceeded   to   conquer   those 
chiefs  and  nobles  who  refused  to  recognise  themselves  as  subjects 
of  England. 

To  obtain  submission  from  the  Irish  and  /\nglo-Irish  chiefs, 
in  the  same  manner  as  did  Henry  II.  and  John  and  Richard  II., 
might  not  be  a  matter  of  much  difficulty,  but  such  submissions 
would  be  hollow  and  insincere.  The  English  king  would  be 
paid  some  tribute  and  receive    some  respect,  as  long  as  he  was 

*  Cox,  p.  242: 


404  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

strong,  but  when  he  was  involved  in  some  great  war  and  his 
government  at  Dublin  had  become  weak,  he  would  no  longer  get 
from  these  chiefs  either  tribute  or  respect.  Such  submissions 
Henry  VIII.  did  not  value  nor  demand.  He  wanted  Ireland 
to  be  an  integral  part  of  his  dominions,  where  English  law  was 
to  be  in  force,  English  dress  worn,  English  customs  adopted 
and  the  English  language  spoken  ;  and  if  the  Irish  did  not  submit 
in  this  way  quietly  and  peaceably,  he  was  determined  to  wring 
submission   from   them   by   the  sword. 

United  under  a  single  leader,  the  Irish  could  have  set  all 
his  threats  at  defiance.  Some  chiefs,  such  as  O'Neill  or  O'Brien, 
could  bring  an  army  of  2,000  men  into  the  field,  the  least  of 
them  could  muster  300  or  more,*  and  the  army  which  could 
be  called  into  action  by  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  or  the  Earl  of 
Ormond,  would  be  as  great  as  the  greatest  of  the  Irish  chiefs  ; 
and  if  all  were  combined  there  might  be  an  army  of  at  least  fifty 
thousand  men.  The  population  of  England  was  greater  than 
that  of  Ireland  and  so  was  its  wealth,  and  if  its  utmost  efforts 
were  put  forth,  even  a  greater  army  than  this  might  have  been 
enrolled  and  equipped  for  a  campaign.  In  point  of  military 
equipment,  also,  it  would  be  superior,  and  if  the  issue  was  to 
be  decided  in  a  single  battle,  or  even  in  a  short  campaign,  the 
probability  that  England  would  conquer  would  be  strong. 
But  a  skilful  Irish  leader  would  not  risk  all  on  a  single  battle. 
He  could  have  retired  before  the  English  into  the  shelter  of  the 
woods  with  which  the  country  was  covered.  He  could  have 
harassed  the  invading  army  by  falling  upon  detached  parties 
and  by  night  attacks.  He  could  have  wasted  the  country 
through  which  they  passed  and  made  it  necessary  for  them 
to  get  all  their  supplies  from  England.  He  could  have  threatened, 
perhaps  cut  off,  their  communications.  An  army  of  not  more 
than  3,000,  under  Art  MacMurrogh,  had  by  such  tactics  baffled 
Richard  II.  and  his  army  of  more  than  20,000  men,  and  what 
army  could  have  conquered  an  equally  daring  leader,  at  the  head 
of  fifty  thousand  men  But  to  expect  that  all  Ireland  would 
thus  unite  cordially  against  a  common  enemy  was  falsified  by  the 
experience  of  the  past.  In  Tirconnell  and  Tirowen  and  Connaught 
and  Thomond  the  same  language  was  spoken,  the  same  manners 
and  habits  prevailed,  but  this  was  the  only  bond  of  agreement 
between  them.  O'Donnell  would  not  serve  under  O'Neill, 
nor  acknowledge  his  supremacy,  and  O'Brien  would  not  act 
with  O'Donnell  except,  perhaps,  to  plunder  O'Neill.  Jealousy 
and  suspicion  and  mutual  hate  kept  these  chieftains  wide  apart, 
<xnd  even   the  presence  of  common    danger  was    powerless   to 

*  State  Papers,  Vol;  II.,  p.   5. 


HENRY   BECOMES   KING   OF'  IRELAND.  405 

extinguish  their  animosities.  They  fought  as  persistently  as 
did  their  ancestors,  and  since  the  days  of  Brian  Boru  had  never 
acted    together. 

And  if  the  old  Irish  could  not  agree  in  defending  their  country, 
still  less  likely  was  it  that  the  Irish  and  Anglo-Irish  would  coalesce  ; 
Fitzgerald  and  Birmingham  and  Burke  were  Irish  in  dress 
and  habit  and  language,  and  the  ties  which  bound  them  to 
England  were  slender  and  weak,  yet  these  ties  were  not 
altogether  sundered.  They  still  traced  their  descent  from  an 
Anglo-Norman  source,  and,  settled  in  a  country  which  their 
fathers'  swords  had  won,  they  regarded  the  people  around 
them  as  belonging  to  an  inferior  race.  They  allied  themselves 
by  marriage  with  the  native  chiefs,  but  they  would  enter  with 
reluctance,  and  certainly  without  enthusiasm,  into  any  movement 
which  proposed  to  finally  destroy  English  power  in  Ireland, 
and  on  its  ruins  to  establish  a  united  monarchy,  with  an 
O'Neill  or  an  O'Brien  as  its  king.  Nor  was  there  any  Irish  leader 
that  could  compel  their  obedience,  no  descendant  of  the  ancient 
kings  with  the  genius  and  courage  to  abolish  the  old  clan  system 
with  the  strifes  and  jealousies  and  weakness  which  it  bred, 
to  break  down  the  barriers  that  separated  one  province  from 
another,  to  discard  as  useless,  and  even  mischievous,  institutions 
which  belonged  to  a  long  passed  age,  and  to  gather  together 
the  strength  of  the  whole  nation  as  Brian  did  under  his  own 
victorious  banner.  Such  then  was  the  condition  of  Ireland, 
weak,  feeble,  distracted,  disorganised,  still  wanting  a  central 
government,  still  broken  up  into  clans,  each  independent,  each 
relying  on  itself,  distrustful  and  suspicious  of  its  neighbour  with 
whom  it  was  ever  willing  to  quarrel  and  never  willing  to  agree. 

But  if  on  the  side  of  Ireland  the  elements  of  weakness  were 
many,  on  the  English  side  were  all  the  elements  of  strength. 
The  English  kings  of  the  Plantagenet  and  Lancastrian  lines 
were  but  the  first  among  the  powerful  feudal  nobles.  In  the 
extent  of  their  landed  possessions,  in  the  amount  of  their  wealth, 
in  the  number  of  their  armed  retainers,  in  the  splendour  of 
their  retinue,  such  nobles  as  Warwick,  the  Kingmaker,  might 
vie  even  with  the  crown.*  In  all  his  public  undertakings 
the  King  was  compelled  to  consult  these  nobles  and  to  be  guided 
by  their  advice.  In  his  wars  their  aid  was  respectfully,  even 
timidly,  invoked.  They  often  thwarted  his  designs  and  marred 
his  projects  ;  and  when  they  combined  against  him  they  were 


*  Warwick  was  so  powerful  that  the  people  believed  whatever  side 
he  favoured  in  the  wars  of  the  Roses  was  sure  of  success.  (Lingard,Vol.  IV., 
p.  92).  And  at  his  house  in  London  six  oxen  were  consumed  at  a  breakfast, 
"  and  every  tavern  was  full  of  his  meat."     {Ibid.,  p.  78.) 


406  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

able  to  wring  from  him,  as  they  did  from  King  John,  the  most 
humiliating  concessions.  The  wars  of  the  Roses  had  effected 
a  mighty  change,  for  while  it  destroyed  the  power  of  the  feudal 
lords,  it  increased  the  power  of  the  Crown.  Many  of  these  nobles 
had  fallen  in  battle,  some  beneath  the  headsman's  axe  ;  some  had 
been  attainted  and  as  such  lost  their  lands  and  castles;  all  emerged 
from  these  disastrous  wars,  their  wealth  dissipated,  either  wholly 
or  in  great  part,  their  followers  slain,  their  power  gone.  And 
when  the  struggle  was  over,  the  strength  of  any  one  noble,  or 
any  combination  of  nobles,  the  King  was  strong  enough 
to  despise.  When  Henry  VIII.  became  King  the  greater  part 
of  those  who  were  actively  engaged  in  these  wars  had  passed 
away,  but  the  memory  of  what  they  had  gone  through  survived, 
and  their  children  who  succeeded  them  were  ready  to  submit 
to  anything  and  everything  rather  than  renew  the  horrors  of 
the  past.  The  last  of  the  pretendeis  who  had  disturbed  the 
reign  of  Henry  VII.  had  disappeared  ;  none  such  appeared  in  the 
reign  of  his  son  ;  and  with  none  to  question  his  right,  or  dispute 
his  title,  the  second  Tudor  monarch  sat  secure  on  the  English 
throne.  At  the  time  he  resolved  on  the  conquest  of  Ireland 
(1535)3  he  had  already  broken  with  Rome,  made  himself  head 
of  the  church,  as  well  as  the  State,  and  plundered  the  monasteries 
so  well  that  their  plunder  brought  into  his  treasury  a  sum  equal 
to  ;^50,ooo,ooo  of  our  money.*  He  vv-as  at  peace  with  France 
and  with  Scotland,  the  whole  resources  of  the  country  were 
at  his  command,  his  treasury  was  full,  his  Parliament  was  made 
up  of  slaves,  eager  to  enact  whatever  he  willed,  the  high  placed 
churchmen  were  either  his  creatures  or  his  prisoners,  the  nobles, 
deprived  of  their  feudal  privileges,  crouched  in  terror  at  his  feet, 
and  the  King  himself  had  developed  into  a  tyrant  and  a  voluptuary, 
as  absolute  and  as  immoral  as  the  most  despotic  monarch  of 
the  East.  The  tyrant  became  capricious  as  tyrants  will.  To 
be  his  favourite  was  dangerous,  to  be  his  enemy  was  fatal,  and 
the  favourite  of  to-day  became  the  enemy  of  to-morrow.  Formerly 
it  was  considered  little  less  than  exile  to  be  sent  to  Ireland,  f 
but  there  was  safety  in  being  distant  from  a  capricious  tyrant, 
and  the  ablest  public  servants  were  thankful  to  be  employed 
there,  as  they  were  careful  to  carry  out  the  King's  commands 
with  accuracy  and  diligence,  knowing  that  failure  meant  his 
displeasure  and  their  own  ruin,  and  that  the  only  way  of  safety 
was  the  way  of  success. 

*  Gasquet,  Henry   VIII.  and  the  English  Monasteries,  p.-  "jy . 

t  It  was  so  considered  by  Sir  Richard  Pembridge,  who  was  appointed 
Viceroy  (1371),  but  refused  to  go  to  Ireland,  even  though  punished  with 
the  loss  of  all  his  offices  in  England  and  threatened  besides  with  imprison- 
ment for  disobedience.     (Gilbert's    Viceroys,  pp.  232-3.) 


HENRY   BECOMES   KING   OF   IRELAND.  407 

The  first  of  the  Irish  chiefs  to  be  attacked  was  O'Brien  of 
Thomond.  He  had  sheltered  Silken  Thomas  in  his  territory, 
and  he  had  been  disposed  to  assist  him,  and  he  had  sheltered 
young  Gerald  of  Kildare  for  whose  capture  the  King  was  so  eager. 
He  was  in  alliance  with  Desmond,  and  coming  from  West  to 
East  Thomond,  he  had  often  spread  terror  through  the  lands 
of  the  English  subjects.  His  power  was  considerable,  but  he 
knew  well  he  would  be  no  match  for  the  united  forces  of  England. 
He  foresaw  the  danger  that  menaced  him,  and  in  a  letter  to 
Henry  VHI.  (i  3th  October,  1535),  couched  in  the  most  submissive 
terms,*  he  assures  the  King  that  he  never  sent  for  Thomas 
Fitzgerald,  that  he  never  gave  him  any  help  nor  did  any  of 
his  people,  but  that  when  Fitzgerald  came  into  his  country 
he  could  not,  for  very  shame,  refuse  him  meat  and  drink,  "  for 
it  hath  been  of  old  custom  amongst  Irishmen  to  give  meat  and 
drink  and  such  little  goods  as  we  have."t  His  cringing  and 
slavish  tone  was  not  appreciated,  nor  his  professions  of  loyalty. 
It  was  felt  necessary  to  have  him  crushed,  or  at  least  further 
humbled,  and  Captain  Francis  Herbert  writes  to  his  friend, 
Cromwell,  in  the  following  year,  that  O'Brien  is  the  greatest 
Irishman  and  the  strongest  inan  of  power  in  Ireland,  and  that 
if  he  were  subdued  and  his  pride  beaten  down,  it  would  cause  all 
Irishmen  to  quail  and  to  incline  to  their  prince's  pleasure  and 
commandment.! 

Before  proceeding  against  O'Brien  and  the  Munster  Geraldines, 
the  Deputy  went  north  (June,  1536)  to  parley  with  the  Great 
O'Neill,  whom  he  found  very  tractable  in  words  but  unwilling 
to  give  definite  and  binding  pledges.  Yet  Gray  dissembled 
his  disappointment,  for  he  believed  that  O'Connor  of  Offaly 
and  O'More  of  Leix  were  in  league  with  O'Brien,  and  this  for- 
midable confederacy  was  enough,  without  having  open  war  with 
O'Neill.  Nor  did  he  believe  it  wise  to  proceed  so  fai  south 
as  Limerick  without  having  first  subjugated  the  district  near 
Dublin,  and  with  this  object  in  view  he  entered  MacMurrogh's 
country,  besieged  and  captured  his  strongest  castle  at  Ferns, 
and  struck  such  terror  into  the  whole  family  of  MacMurrogh, 
that  they  all  agreed  to  accept  such  terms  as  the  Deputy  would 
impose,  and  The  MacMurrogh,  who  had  been  in  receipt  of  eighty 
marks  a  year  as  Black  Rent  from  the  Treasury  at  Dublin,  was 
now  glad  to  receive  back  his  castle  of  Ferns,  on  condition  of 
paying   the   Deputy  eighty  marks  yearly,   and  bound   himself, 

*  He  addresses  Henry  "  most  noble,  excellent  high  and  mighty  princcj 
and  my  most  redoubted  sovereign  High  Lord  in  the  humblest  manner 
that  I  can  or  may  I  recommend  me  unto  your  Majesty." 

t  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,   p.   287. 

+  ibid.,  p.   307. 


408  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

besides,  to  surrender  the  castle,  whenever  the  Deputy  demanded 
its  surrender.*  In  the  early  part  of  the  year  a  Parliament 
was  held  at  Dublin  at  which  the  allies  of  Silken  Thomas  were 
attainted,  the  lands  of  absentees  were  confiscated  to  the  Crown, 
as  also  the  lands  held  in  Ireland  by  English  monasteries,  and 
all  payments  by  way  of  Black  Rent  were  abolished.f  The  succession 
to  the  crown  was  declared  to  be  vested  in  the  offspring  of  Anne 
Boleyn.  In  addition,  the  King  was  declared — though  not  at 
once — the  head  of  the  church,  nor  did  this  act  pass  with  the 
consent  of  the  Proctors,  who  are  "  loathe  that  the  King's  grace 
should  be  Supreme  Head  of  the  Church."  |  From  Dublin 
the  Parliament  was  prorogued  to  Kilkenny,  and  Gray,  leaving 
a  small  force  at  Dublin  to  defend  the  city  and  its  surroundings 
and  directing  that  bridges  be  built  at  Woodstock  and  Athy, 
marched  against  O'Brien.  He  had  with  him  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  English  forces,  and  assisting  him,  also,  was  the  Earl  of 
Ossory  and  his  son,  "  with  a  goodly  company,"  the  gentlemen 
of  Wexford  and  Waterford,  the  Eord  Roche  and  divers  others. 
Finally,  impelled  either  by  policy  or  fear,  the  Irish  chiefs  were 
aiding  him — O'More,  MacMurrogh,  Magillapatrick,  O'Byrne 
and  O'Carroll-il  At  the  head  of  this  army,  formidable  in  numbers 
and  in  equipment.  Gray  directed  his  steps  through  Cashel  to 
Limerick,  entering  that  city  through  the  territory  of  the  Earl 
of  Desmond,  whose  strong  castle  at  Lough  Gur**  he  captured. 
It  was  pretended  that  the  Parliament  which  had  been  prorogued 
to  Kilkenny  was  further  prorogued  to  Limerick,  but 
Gray  was  resolved  less  on  legislation  than  on  war,  and  neither 
at  Kilkenny  nor  Limerick  were  any  legislative  enactments 
passed. 

A  traitor  within  the  camp  is  more  to  be  feared  than  an  enemy 
from  without,  and  in  the  long  struggle  between  Ireland  and 
England  it  is  but  historic  truth  to  say  that  many  such  traitors 
have  been  found  on  the  Irish  side.  One  such  now  appeared 
in  the  person  of  Donogh  O'Brien.  He  was  the  nephew  of 
O'Brien  of  Thomond.  He  was  married  to  the  Earl  of  Ossory's 
daughter,  the  Earl  was  a  strong  and  powerful  patron  on  the 
English  side,  and  Donogh  abandoned  and  betrayed  his  uncle 
and  his  country  and  took  the  side  of  Ossory  and  the  English. 
Three  miles   from  Limerick,   westward   and   a  little  by    south^ 


*  State  Papers ^  Vol.  ll,  p.   347.     (Letters    from    Allen    to  Cromwell.) 
\  Ibid.^  p.   315.     Among   the   absentees   specially   mentioned   are   the 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  Earl  of  Wiltshire  and  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury. 
X  Ibid.j   p.    316.     (Brabazon    to   Cromwell.) 
II  Ibid.,  p.    354. 
**   A  little  south-east  of   the  city  of  Limerick. 


HENRY   BECOMES    KING   OF   IRELAND.  409 

was  the  strong  fortress  of  Carrigogunnell,*  which  for  200  years 
had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  O'Briens.  It  was  strongly 
built  and  well-manned,  and  Donogh  O'Brien  stipulated  for 
nothing  more  than  this — that  the  fortress  be  captured  by  the 
English  and  given  into  his  custody.  It  was  captured  in  due 
course  and  garrisoned,  and  its  custody  given  over  to  the  Earl 
of  Ossory,  who  in  turn  was  permitted  to  hand  it  over  to  Donogh's 
keeping.  But  the  capture  of  Desmond's  strongold  at  Lough 
Gur,  or  of  O'Brien's  castle  at  Carrigogunnell,  were  small 
operations  compared  to  the  capture  of  O'Brien's  Bridge.  Built 
some  miles  above  Limerick  on  the  Shannon  it  was  of  unusual 
strength.  On  the  numerous  arches  that  spanned  the  river 
there  were  built  two  strong  towers,  each  some  distance  off  the 
land,  the  strongest  facing  the  east  bank,  built  of  hewn  marble 
and  having  walls  at  least  twelve  or  thirteen  feet  thick.  These 
towers  were  filled  with  many  defenders — ■"  gunners,  gallow- 
glasses  and  horsemen."  f  They  were  armed  with  hand-guns, 
had  some  lighter  pieces  of  ordnance  and  one  enormous  gun, 
which  discharged  balls  as  large  as  a  man's  head.  The  attacking 
army  was  astonished  at  the  skill  with  which  the  defenders  had 
fortified  themselves  with  timber  and  hogsheads  of  earth.  I 
They  had,  besides,  broken  down  four  of  the  arches  of  the  bridge 
near  the  land,  nor  was  access  to  the  banks  of  the  river  possible 
for  an  army  encumbered  with  heavy  guns,  except  by  an  unknown 
and  secret  path.  This  secret  way  was  known  to  Donogh 
O'Brien  and  he  led  the  English  army  by  it  to  the  river  banks 
on  which  they  were  enabled  to  erect  their  batteries  and  attack, 
at  short  range,  the  nearest  and  strongest  of  the  bridge  towers. 
But  their  efforts  were  fruitless.  The  batteries  made  no 
impression  on  walls  thirteen  feet  thick,  nor  was  it  until  the 
broken  arches  were  daringly  spanned  by  ladders,  and  the  English 
were  thus  able  to  assault  the  defences  and  the  defenders  at  close 
quarters,  that  the  Irish  garrison  retreated  and  the  bridge  and 
its  towers  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands.  The  bridge  was  broken 
down,  O'Brien's  territory  was  thus  cut  in  two,  for  he  was  denied 
access  to  East  Thomond,  there  was  much  jubilation  on  the 
English  side  and  Gray  expected  honors  and  congratulations, 
and   was   disappointed    at    the    congratulations   being   so    few.|| 

*  I  assume  that  the  castle  in  question  is  that  which  is  marked  on  the 
county  maps,  in  the  County  of  Limerick,  not  far  from  the  right  bank  of 
the  River  Mague. 

t  Siaie  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  351. 

%  The  Council  in  their  letter  to  Cromwell  declared  (August  9th),  that 
the  like  "had  not  been  seen  in  this  lande."    (p.  351.) 

II  "  If  others  being  in  the  same  rome  before  me  had  don  the  loth  part 
which  I  have  don  the  same  had  been  largely  dilated  and  highly  praised." 
{State  Papers,  Vol.  II. ^  pp.  385,  et  seq. — Gray  to  Cromwell.) 


4IO  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

Flushed  with  these  triumphs,  he  would  have  wished  to  boldly 
march  into  West  Thomond  and  encounter  and,  perhaps,  defeat 
O'Brien,  or  at  least  terrify  him  into  submission,  but  the  fruits 
of  his  victory  were  soon  lost  Some  of  the  English  soldiers 
mutinied,  and  when  he  commanded  them  to  do  anything  they 
cried  out  together,  "  let  us  have  money  and  we  will  do  it."  And 
so  menacing  was  their  conduct  that  he  had  to  turn  his  guns 
on  them  and  protested  he  was  in  danger  of  his  life*  and  he  had 
to  return  to  Dublin  being  unable  to  follow  up  his  success.  The 
fortress  of  Carrigogunnell  was  soon  betrayed  to  the  Irish,  as 
O'Brien's  Bridge  had  been  betrayed  to  the  English,  O'Connor 
of  Offaly  was  in  open  revolt,  the  Deputy  and  Ossory  commenced 
to  quarrel,  neither  Desmond  nor  O'Brien  would  submit  nor 
surrender  young  Gerald  Fitzgerald  ;  and  the  King  angrily 
demanded,  in  the  following  year,  how  it  happened  that  O'Brien's 
Bridge  with  its  towers  was  again  built  up  and  was  once  more 
a  menace  to  the  English  possessions  east  of  the  Shannon.  He 
bluntly  blames  the  unfortunate  Deputy  for  his  negligence,  and 
appointed  a  commission,  of  which  St.  Leger  was  chief,  to  proceed 
to  Ireland  and  sit  in  judgment  on  Gray  and  the  other  Irish 
officials  and  find  out  how  their  duties  had  been  discharged. f 

Against  Brian  O'Connor  of  Offaly  the  English  were  especially 
incensed,  for  he  had  not  kept  his  pledges  with  the  government 
at  Dublin,  nor  paid  his  stipulated  tribute.  For  these  reasons 
Gray  entered  his  territory  (1537),  compelled,  on  his  march, 
Mageoghegan  and  O'Mulloy  to  join  their  forces  with  him,  then 
attacked  and  captured  O'Connor's  castles  of  Brackland  and 
Dangan,  wasted  most  part  of  his  territory,  destroyed  the  corn, 
demolished  his  fortresses,  chased  the  unfortunate  chief  into 
Ely  O'Carroll  and  handed  over  Offaly  to  Cahir  O'Connor,  who, 
in  relation  to  his  namesake  and  relative,  had  been  a  traitor 
and  a  spy.|  And  the  Irish  Council  recommended  Cromwell 
to  have  Cahir  made  Baron  of  Offaly,  for  then  the  Irish  will  so 
hate  him  ||  that  he  will  be  compelled  by  necessity  to  be  faithful 
to  the  English,  as  he  will  have  to  rely  on  their  support.  From 
Offaly,  Gray  proceeded  to  MacMurrogh's  country,  took  two  castles 
of  the  O'Nolan's,  and  compelled  the  Kavanaghs  to  give  new 
pledges  of  good  behaviour.  This  done,  he  entered  and  wasted 
O'Carroll's  country,  because  he  had  befriended  Brian  O'Connor. 
O'Carroll  had  to  submit,  as  also  did  Magillapatrick  and  O'More 
of  Leix,  both  of  whom,  in  addition,  had  to  aid  the  Deputy  in 

*  State  Papers,  p.  3555 
t  Ibid.,  p.  462. 
X  Ibid.,  pp.  440-1. 

II  Ibid.,  p.  444.     This  shows  that  the  Irish  did   not  yet  love  the  English^! 
though  they  certainly  feared  them. 


HENRY  BECOMES   KING   OF' IRELAND.  4II 

his  war.*  At  last,  O'Connor  was  reduced  to  that  condition 
of  misery  that  he  was  going  from  one  to  another  of  his  old  friends 
to  have  meat  and  drink  and  was  more  like  a  beggar  than  a  captain 
or  ruler  of  a  country. j  Harassed  on  every  side,  pursued  from 
one  place  to  another,  driven  to  desperation,  Brian  O'Connor 
made  offers  of  submission  and  was  willing  to  accept  any  condition 
from  the  English.  But  they  would  give  him  no  terms,  and  at 
last  getting  some  followers  together,  he  re-entered  Ofialy,  drove 
his  brother  Cahir  out,  and  when  he  was  again  attacked  by  the 
Deputy  and  driven  into  O'Doyn's  country  he  soon  returned 
and  intrigued  with  his  brother,  Cahir,  who  began  to  desert 
the  English,  as  they  began  to  distrust  him.  And  St.  Leger  in 
his  letter  to  Cromwell  expressed  his  disappointment  at  this 
desultory  and  endless  warfare,  tells  him  that  Offaly  is  much 
easier  won  than  kept,  and  concludes  with  the  observation 
that,  as  to  O'Connor's  assurances,  there  is  no  more  trust  in  him 
than  a  dog. J  But  a  little  later,  moved  by  policy  more  than  love 
of  Brian  O'Connor,  that  chieftain,  having  come  to  Dublin  and 
acknowledged  in  the  fullest  manner  that  he  was  the  King's 
subject  and  abandoned  the  Pope  and  promised  to  pay  a  tribute  to 
the  English  out  of  Offaly,  was  taken  by  them  into  favour.  By  the 
end  of  1538,  in  one  province  at  least,  English  power  had  become 
predominant.  The  MacMurroghs  no  longer  received  their 
Black  Rent  from  Dublin,  but  instead  paid  tribute  to  the  Deputy 
for  their  possessions,  as  also  did  O'Toole.  The  Mageoghegans 
had  fought  with  the  English  to  overawe  the  O'Mores  and  the 
O'Connors,  Magillapatrick,  the  adherent  of  Lord  Ormond, 
had  renounced  the  Pope  in  order  to  purchase  the  favour  of  the 
government  at  Dublin.  And  the  once  dreaded  O'Connor, 
whose  ancestors  had  so  long  menaced  the  Pale,  trembled  for 
his  possessions  and  even  for  his  existence  at  Ofifaly  ;  and  O'CarroU 
agreed  to  pay  the  King's  representative  twelvepence  for  every 
ploughland  he  held,  to  cut  passes  and  make  roads  through  his 
territory  for  the  passage  of  English  troops,  and  to  aid  the  Lord 
Deputy  in  his  wars.  !| 

If  Leinster  was  Ireland,  then  the  conquest  of  the  country 
might  be  said  to  be  achieved.  But  the  state  of  the  other  provinces 
Avas  very  different  from  that  of  Leinster.  In  the  south,  the 
MacCarthys  and  Desmond  were  still  strong  ;  west  of  the  Shannon 
O'Brien  maintained  his  independence  and  his  strength  ;  the 
Connaught    chiefs     ignored    the    government     at    Dublin    and 


*  Siaie  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  468. 

f  I6td.,  p.  474.     (Gray's  Letter  to  Cromwell.) 

I  Ibid.,  p.  536.     This    seems  meant  for  Cahir,  as  well  as  for  Brian. 

\\Ibid.^  Vol.  III.,  p.    15. 


412  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

disregarded  its  power  ;  and  the  resources  of  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell 
were  never  greater.  That  all  these  chiefs  were  in  alliance  for 
the  protection  and  defence  of  young  Fitzgerald  was  ominous 
for  England  ;  but  that  the  alliance  should  assume  a  religious 
character  and  put  forth  its  strength  in  defence  of  the  ancient 
faith,  as  it  threatened  to  do,  was  more  ominous  still.  Both 
O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  were  at  peace  with  the  Deputy,  but  their 
sincerity  was  suspected,  and  not  without  some  reason.  They 
were  in  correspondence  with  the  King  of  Scotland  and  probably 
also  with  the  King  of  France  ;  they  regarded  Henry  as  a  heretic,* 
and,  in  common  with  the  vast  majority  of  their  countrymen, 
objected  to  him  as  such.  O'Neill  in  particular  had  been  specially 
appealed  to  by  the  Pope  to  defend  the  ancient  religion  and  he 
wished  to  respond  to  an  appeal  so  flattering  to  his  pride. |  He 
made  peace  with  O'Donnell  and  these  two  chiefs  who  had  so 
seldom  agreed  were  now  ready  to  do  battle  side  by  side.  Early 
in  1538,  the  Deputy  entered  Farney  in  South  Monaghan  and 
plundered  that  district  because  its  chief,  MacMahon,  violated 
his  engagements  with  the  English,  and  this  must  have  been 
unwelcome  news  to  O'Neill,  for  MacMahon  was  his  neighbour 
and  his  tributary.  A  little  later  Gray  attacked  O'Reilly. J 
Early  in  the  following  year,  he  went  to  Dundalk  to  parley  with 
O'Neill  and  O'Donnell,  and  when  these  chiefs  did  not  appear, 
he  wasted  the  district  round  Armagh,  and  he  lamented  that 
the  weather  was  so  bad  he  could  not  do  O'Neill  much  harm.|| 
Determined  to  revenge  all  these  outrages,  the  two  northern 
chiefs  mustered  all  their  forces,  burst  into  the  Pale,  ravaged 
and  plundered  Louth  and  Meath,  and  were  proceeding  south 
to  Tara  to  join  hands  with  their  southern  allies — O'Brien  and 
Desmond — when  the  news  reached  them  that  the  vigorous 
Deputy  was  marching  to  encounter  them.  They  hastily 
retraced  their  steps,  and,  at  Bellahoe,**  on  the  boundary  between 
Meath  and  Monaghan,  Gray  overtook  them.  Loaded  with 
spoil  the  northerns  were  attacked,  unprepared  and  in  disorder, 
and  were  severely  defeated.  The  booty  was  lost,  many  of  the 
army  were  slain,  and  the  vanquished  retired  to  their  own 
territories  ;  and  Gray  then  turned  into  Down  and  captured 
several  castles  from  Magennis  and  Savage. |t  Early  in  the  next 
year    (1540),    he    entered    Tirowen    occupied     Dungannon    and 

*  State  Papers,    Vol.  III.,  p.  140. 

t  Leland,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  172-3.     The  appeal  was  made  to  O'Neill  through 
the  Bishop  of  Metz. 

I  State  Papers,  pp.   3-24. 

II  Ibid.,  p.    133. 

**  Four  miles  from  Carrickmacross.     <^tour  Masters?; 
It    State  Papers,   Vol.  III.,  p.    155. 


HENRY   BECOMES   KING   OF   IRELAND.  413 

fell  to  preying  and  burning  O'Neill's  country  at  which  he 
continued   for   the  space  of  six   days.* 

During  these  years  Gray's  activity  was  not  confined  to  Ulster 
or  to  Leinster.  Taking  with  him  some  troops  from  Dublin 
and  accompanied  by  Lords  Gormanstown  and  Delvin,  Darcy, 
Birmingham,  O'Connor  of  Offaly  and  O'More,  each  with  some 
followers,  he  set  out  (June,  1538),  on  an  expedition  which  might 
easily  have  proved  disastrous  and  which  only  the  want  of  unity, 
or  even  of  spirit,  among  the  chiefs  prevented  from  being  so. 
Through  O'Molloy's  country  he  passed  into  Ely  O'Carroll,  thence 
onward  to  Limerick,  crossed  O'Brien's  Bridge,  which  had  been 
partially  rebuilt  and  which  he  again  broke  down,  then  through 
Thomond  and  Clanrickarde's  country  on  to  Galway,  returning 
through  Hy-many  and  O'Madden's  country,  thence  across 
the  Shannon  into  Westmeath,  and  finally  reached  Maynooth, 
where  he  rested. t  Except  O'Brien  of  Thomond,  all  the  chiefs 
through  whose  territories  he  passed  gave  him  pledges  of  sub- 
mission, and  whenever  there  was  any  hesitation  about  yielding 
he  attacked  and  captured  their  castles.  To  proceed  among 
hostile  chiefs  and  into  unknown  districts,  so  far  distant  from 
Dublin,  and  with  so  weak  an  army  as  he  had,  was  an  act  of 
reckless  daring.;]:  But  his  audacity  stood  him  in  good  stead, 
and  such  was  the  terror  that  he  inspired,  that  no  chief  had  the 
courage  to  attack  him.  Even  O'Brien  allowed  him  to  capture 
some  of  his  castles,  though  he  might  easily  have  fallen  on  him 
and  destroyed  him.  In  the  next  year  (1539),  the  Deputy  went 
south  on  a  similar  expedition  and  received  the  submission  of 
those    chiefs  in  the  neighbourhood  of    Limerick  and  Cork.|| 

Gray's  energy  since  he  came  to  Ireland  was  conspicuous. 
His  capacity  and  daring  were  of  the  highest  order  ;  he  was  not 
scrupulous  as  to  means  ;  and  no  Deputy  who  went  before  him 
succeeded  so  well.  There  was  not  an  Irish  leader — native  chief 
or  Anglo-Irish  lord — who  did  not  fear  him  ;  the  narrow  limits 
of  the  Pale  had  been  generously  enlarged,  and  no  longer  was 
it  confined  within  that  protecting  rampart  behind  which  the 
subjects  of  England  cowered,  and  outside  of  which  "  they  durst 
not  peep."**  Gray's  zeal  for  the  interests  of  his  royal  master 
could  not  be  called  in  question.      Yet  his  zeal  and  his  services 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  III„  p.  183. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.   57-62. 

X  His  having  escaped  was  attributed  to  the  fact  that  he  was  the  uncle 
of  young  Gerald  Fitzgerald.  It  is  otherwise  hard  to  understand  the 
inaction,  it  might  be  said  the  cowardice,  of  the  chiefs.  (State  Papers, 
p.  62,  note.) 

II  Ibid.,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  164-7.     (Letter  of  Ormond  to  Cromwell.) 

**   Campion's  History  of  Ireland,  p.  6. 


414  HISTORY   OF    IRELAND. 

were  soon  torgotten,  and  like  Wolsey,  ten  years  earlier,  he  was 
destined  to  discover  how  fickle  was  the  favour,  how   shallow  and 
transient  the  gratitude  of  his  king.      During   his  last  years  in 
Ireland  he  quarrelled  often  and  seriously  with  the  Earl  of  Ormond* 
and  the  Earl's  son  complains    that  he  is    the  Earl  of    Kildare 
newly  born  again. f      He  treated  the  Council  at    Dublin  with 
disdain  and  though  bound  to  consult  with  them,  he  rarely  did 
so,  and  they  were  not  slow  to  accuse  him.  t     Archbishop  Browne 
complained  that  he  was  still  clinging  to  the    Papal  supremacy, 
and  on  every  side  the  accusation  was  made,  that  because    he 
was  young    Gerald    Fitzgerald's    uncle    he  allowed    the    boy  to 
escape.      Henry  did  not  seem  at  first  to  put  faith   in  these  stories 
and  would  not  relieve  Gray  of  his  ofifice  and  allow  him  to  proceed 
to  England,  but  after  a  time  the  necessary  permission  was  given 
and  Gray  returned  to  England.      Then  Henry  began  to  suspect 
the  late  Deputy,  and  in  his  mind  suspicion  and  guilt  differed 
little.      It  was  felt  in  Ireland  that  Gray  was  a  fallen  man  ;  his 
enemies   took  courage  ;   the  accusations  against   him   fell   thick 
and    fast ;   and   the  Irish  Council   solemnly  charged   him   that, 
because  of  his  connexion  with  the  Earl  of  Kildare,  and  blinded 
by  afifection  for  that   family,  he  had  favoured  the  King's  enemies, 
he  had  harassed  the  King's  friends,  he  had  released  prisoners 
committed  by    the  Council  for  treason,  and  he  had  maintained 
O'More's  sons  to  rob  and  spoil  the  king's  subjects.     By  Henry, 
he  was  already  judged  guilty,  but  the  farce  of  referring  his  case 
to   Parliament    was    gone   through;   he   was   quickly   attainted 
of  high  treason,  and  in  June,  1541,  was  executed  at  Tower  Hill.  || 
When    Gray    was   leaving    for    England    (April,    1540),    Sir 
William  Brereton  was  appointed  Deputy,  and  he  was  not  long  in 
of^ce  until  a  report  gained  currency  that  there  was  to  be  a  general 
muster  of  the  Irish,  at  Fore,  in  Westmeath.      With  all  the  forces 
within  the  Pale  Brereton  marched  to  meet  the  Irish,  but  when 
he  arrived  at  Fore  he  had  no  enemy  to  encounter.      The  Irish 
were  not  there,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  they  ever 
intended   to  be.      But   to   gather   together   so   many,   to   bring 
together  the  whole  forces  of  Dublin  and  Drogheda,  to  take  the 
judge   from  the  bench  and  the  learned  man  from  his  books,  and 
the  farmer  from  his  plough,  and  yet  have  no    fighting  to  do 
was  at  least  disappointing.**     "Whereupon,"  says  Brereton  and 

*  This  was  Ossory  to  whom  the  title  of  Ormond  had  been  restored  in 

1538- 

f  State  Papers,  p.   32. 

X  Ibid.,  pp.   36-9. 

il  Ibid.,  Vol.   III.,  p.   263; 

*■*  Ibid.,  pp.  224-5.     (Letter  from  the  Council  to  Henry  VIII.,  July  25th 

1540-) 


HENRY   BECOMES   KING   OP   IRELAND.  4I  5 

the  Council,  "  we  resolved  to  do  some  exploit,"  and,  turning 
into  Offaly,  they  cut  down  the  corn,  demolished  the  castles, 
burned  the  houses,  and  left  the  whole  district  desolate  and  bare. 
O'Connor  gave  them  no  provocation,  it  was  not  suggested  that 
he  did,  yet,  the  Deputy  complains  that  he  remains  still  in  his 
cankered  malice  and  rancour,  for  it  seems  that  while  his  lands 
were  laid  desolate  and  his  people  plundered,  he  was  expected 
to  be  thankful  to  the  dispoilers.  Nor  did  Henry  censure  Brereton, 
on  the  contrary  he  commended  him.  O'Connor  had  been  the 
friend  and  ally  of  Fitzgerald  and  as  such  the  King's  mind  was 
embittered  against  him.  But  though  he  commended  Brereton 
for  his  activity,  he  did  not  retain  him  at  the  head  of  the  Irish 
government,  and  almost  immediately  appointed  Sir  Anthony 
St.  Leger  as  Lord  Deputy.* 

The  new  Deputy  was  no  stranger  in  Ireland.  Three  years 
before  (July,  1537),  he  had  been  appointed  by  the  King  as 
head  of  a  Royal  Commission  to  report  on  the  general  condition 
of  Ireland.f  He  had  looked  into  the  state  of  the  revenue, 
gone  carefully  round  the  Pale,  visited  Waterford,  Kilkenny  and 
Tipperary,  noted  the  conduct  of  the  royal  of^cers  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  parleyed  with  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  and 
carefully  estimated  the  strength  and  dispositions  of  the  native 
chiefs.J  And  the  reports  he  sent  to  England  impressed  the 
King  favourably  as  to  his  capacity.  Among  the  English  officials 
in  Ireland  he  had  heard  the  suggestion  made,  repeatedly  and 
persistently,  that  no  quarter  should  be  given  the  Irish,  that 
they  would  never  submit  voluntarily  to  the  English  nor  keep 
any  promises  they  made,  that  they  should  be  effectually  crushed 
and  that  a  beginning  might  be  made  with  the  Leinster  clans — 
the  MacMurroghs,  O' Byrnes  and  O'Tooles,  whose  district  so 
vexatiously  intervened  between  Dublin  and  Waterford,  and 
thus  destroyed  the  symmetry  of  the  Pale.  ||  And  their  suggestion 
was  that  the  Irish  be  driven  from  the  district  and  English  colonists 
planted  in  their  stead.  Such  a  policy  St.  Leger  was  unwilling 
to  pursue.  Apart  from  its  barbarity,  it  might  fail,  and  even 
success  was  little  better  than  failure.  He  had  already  seen 
in  the  case  of  Offaly  that  it  was  easier  to  conquer  than  to  hold 
it ;  the  same  dif^culties  would  arise  with  the  MacMurroghs  and 
their  neighbours.      These  clansmen  loved  their  fields  and  would 

*  He  arrived  in  Dublin  on  the  12th  of  August,  1540.  {State  Papers, 
Vol.  m.,  p.  227.) 

t  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  452-63. 

X  Ibid.,  pp-   510-549.     (Various   letters   and   reports.) 

H  Ibid.,  pp.  498-505,  557.  Ormond  was  sure  that  it  was 
"  the  highest  enterprise  to  destroy  the  Kavanaghs  (MacMurroghs) " 
(p-  557-) 


41 6  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

not  be  driven  forth,  or  extirpated,  without  a  desperate  struggle  ; 
their  mountains  and  passes  were  favourable  to  guerilla  warfare  ; 
and  amid  these  natural  barriers  they  could  long  hold  out  against 
a  powerful  army  and  might  drive  them  back,  baffled  and  defeated. 
And  there  was  the  danger  that  the  clans  in  the  other  provinces 
might  come  to  the  assistance  of  their  countrymen.  A  policy 
of  wholesale  robbery  and  murder  such  as  'this  would  involve 
great  risks,  it  would  drain  the  English  Exchequer  dry,  and  to 
such  a  policy  Henry,  as  well  as  St.  Leger,  was  averse.  For 
he  did  not  want  to  reign  over  wasted  fields  and  ruined  homes. 
St.  Leger  resolved  to  try  what  conciliation  could  do,  and  he  found 
that  it  was  more  effective    than  force. 

The  time  was  propitious  for  such  a  policy  being  tried.  Both 
O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  had  already  made  overtures  to  the  King 
and  professed  their  willingness  to  become  his  loyal  subjects. 
The  unity  between  them  was  of  short  duration.  Their  mutual 
suspicion  and  distrust  was  not  of  recent  but  of  ancient  growth, 
and  the  defeat  of  Bellahoe  and  the  recriminations  which  followed 
served  to  revive  and  intensify  ancient  jealousy  and  ancient 
enmity.  Nor  did  the  southern  chiefs— Desmond  and  O'Brien — 
care  to  link  their  fortunes  with  the  defeated  and  divided  northerns. 
A  general  distrust  arose,  the  various  leaders,  seized  with  panic, 
became  anxious  to  secure  their  own  personal  interests,  and, 
like  a  beaten  and  retreating  army,  it  was  let  every  man  look  to 
himself.  MacMurrogh  agreed  to  renounce  his  chieftaincy 
and  his  name,  and,  content  with  the  name  of  Kavanagh,  to 
accept  a  grant  of  land  from  the  King,  and  to  adopt  English 
customs  and  English  laws.  The  O'Tooles  and  the  O'Byrnes 
were  glad  to  receive  their  lands  on  the  same  condition.*  The 
Earl  of  Desmond,  no  longer  sulking  in  his  tent,  came  to  Limerick 
to  meet  the  Deputy,  made  the  most  ample  form  of  submission 
on  his  knees,  renounced  the  privileges  which  his  ancestors 
had  enjoyed  for  a  century,  and  consented  to  attend  the  King's 
Parliament  as  the  King's  loyal  subject.  And  he  hospitably 
entertained  the  Deputy  at  his  castle  at  Kilmallock.  f  A 
Parliament  held  at  Dublin  (June,  1 541),  was  attended  by  Desmond, 
by  Magillapatrick,  created  Lord  of  Upper  Ossory,  by  O'Reilly 
in  person  and  by  deputies  on  the  part  of  MacWilliam  Burke  and 
of  O'Brien  of  Thomond.  For  the  first  time,  English  lords 
and  Irish  chiefs  sat  side  by  side  in  Parliament,  and,  with  the 
assent  of  all,  Henry  VHL  was  proclaimed  and  acknowledged 
King  of  Ireland.  And  such  was  the  enthusiasm  in  Dublin,  that 
on    the    following    Sunday,    bonfires     were     lighted,    wine     was 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  267-71.- 
t  Ibid.,  p.  286. 


HENRY  BECOMES   KING   OF   IRELAND.  417 

abundantly  consumed  in  the  streets,  great  feastings  were  in 
the  houses,  and  a  solemn  Mass  and  Te  Deum  was  sung  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  "  with  great  joy  and  gladness  to  all 
men."*  O'Donnell  was  not  present,  either  personally  or  by 
deputy,  but  he  soon  after  made  submission  like  the  other  chiefs 
and  Henry  agreed  to  make  him  an  Earl.f  O'Neill  was  the 
last  to  turn  his  back  upon  the  past.  The  descendant  of  the 
ancient  Ardris,  he  was  reluctant  to  abandon  his  inheritance 
and  to  descend  to  the  meaner  position  of  being  a  mere  subject 
to  a  foreign  king.  Like  the  swimmer  on  the  river  bank,  he 
long  shivered  in  hesitation  to  make  the  final  plunge,  but  the 
plunge  was  made  at  last,  and  he  was  content  to  accept  his  lands 
from  Henry  with  the  honours  of  an  Earldom.  He  petitioned  to 
be  created  Earl  of' Ulster,  but  this  was  refused,  and  finally  he 
became  Earl  of  Tirowen,  his  son  being  created,  at  the  same  time, 
Baron  of  Dungannon.  These  honours  were  conferred  at 
Greenwich  (October,  1542),  in  the  presence  of  Henry  and  his 
court,  and  with  great  pomp  and  splendor.  In  the  following 
year,  at  the  same  place  and  with  similar  pomp,  O'Brien  was 
created  Earl  of  Thomond,  his  nephew,  Donogh,  was  made  Baron  of 
Ibricken  and  MacWilliam  Burke  was  made  Earl  of  Clanrickard.  J 
O'Reilly  was  to  be  created  Viscount  Cavan,  O'Connor,  Baron  of 
Ofifaly,  O'Donnell,  Earl  of  Tirconnell,  while  the  lesser  chiefs, 
such  as  Magennis.  Savage  and  others,  were  made  knights,  a 
distinction  with  which  MacNamara  of  Thomond  was  ill-satisfied, 
as  he  begged  hard  to  be    created  Lord  of    Clancullen.|| 

These  Irish  chiefs,  now  turned  into  English  lords  and  knights, 
were  to  hold  their  lands  from  the  King  by  Knight's  service  ; 
they  agreed  to  pay  him  a  yearly  subsidy,  or,  failing  this,  to  reserve 
within  their  own  territory  some  lands  for  the  King's  special 
profit.  The  religious  houses  in  their  territories  were  to  be 
suppressed  and  handed  over  to  the  King's  use.  The  King's  writs 
were  to  be  respected,  his  officers  aided  in  the  execution  of  their 
duty,  the  greater  lords  were  to  win  over  to  the  King's 
peace  the  lesser  chiefs  in  their  midst ;  the  English  mode  of  in- 
heritance was  to  supersede  the  old  system  of  Tanistry, 
and  English  law  and  custom  was  gradually  to  take  the  place 
of  Irish  customs  and  Brehon  law. 

With  these  changes  the  clan  system  could  not  last,  and  it 
was  indeed  time  that  it  had  disappeared.  Under  such  a  system 
progress  was  impossible.      The  peasant  would  not  drain  or  fence 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  III. 5  p.   305. 
t  Ibid.,  p.   318. 


Ibid. 
il  Ibid., 


p.  428. 
p.  450. 


41 8  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

his  land  nor  improve  the  character  of  his  dwelling,  as  the  law- 
gave  him  no  permanent  interest  in  it,  and  men  will  not  sow  that 
others  may  reap.  His  life  was  the  pastoral  one,  easy,  careless 
and  free,  an  unsettled  and  nomadic  one.  There  was  no  incentive 
to  thrift,  for  the  exactions  of  coshery  and  bonaght  and  the  rest 
were  such  that  the  savings  of  a  year  might  be  dissipated  in  a 
single  night.  And  if  the  chieftain  of  his  own  clan  did  not 
oppress  him  with  these  multiplied  exactions,  he  was  always 
liable  to  have  his  house  attacked  and  his  lands  laid  bare  by  the 
chief  of  some  neighbouring  clan,  bent  upon  earning  distinction 
by  the  plunder  of  other  clans  than  his  own.  It  was  considered 
beneath  the  dignity  of  a  chief  or  of  one  of  his  blood  to  engage 
in  trade  or  commerce,  or  to  descend  to  manual  labor.  The 
number  of  these  idlers  was  large,  the  ambition  of  each  was 
to  earn  military  distinction,  and,  having  nothing  to  do,  they 
were  ready  on  every  pretext  to  engage  in  war.  The  tanist 
system  of  succession  left  everything  uncertain.  The  headship 
of  each  clan  was  open  to  the  aspiring  and  ambitious  ;  it  is  seldom 
such  were  wanting,  and  as  the  clans  were  so  numerous  it  is 
seldom  the  country  was  free  from  war.  Ireland,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  still  clinging  to  the  clan  system,  was  still  a  portion 
of  antiquity,  its  peasants  idle,  the  lands  untilled,  the  housee 
primitive  and  rude,  the  chiefs  quarrelling  ;  and  a  race  of  ths 
highest  spirit  and  intelligence,  in  wealth  and  commerce,  in  the 
comforts  and  refinements  of  life,  was  far  outstripped  by  other 
races  even  less  gifted  than  they  were.  Stagnation  was  certain 
while  the  clan  system  continued,  yet  age  after  age  passed  and 
century  followed  century,  and  that  system,  like  the  barren  fig-tree, 
still  cumbered  the  earth. 

When  the  change  came  it  was  effected  by  a,  stranger,  and  from 
without.  It  would  have  been  better  if  it  had  come  from  within, 
if  it  had  been  the  work  of  someone  of  the  same  race  and  language 
as  the  people  themselves.  But  it  seemed  hopeless  to  expect 
that  such  would  be.  The  clan  system  was  severely  aristocratic. 
Between  the  peasant  who  tilled  the  fields  and  herded  his  flock, 
and  the  chief  who  did  nothing  but  go  to  war  there  was  an 
impassable  gulf.  There  was  no  middle  class,  hardly  any  towns, 
especially  among  the  old  Irish,  and  for  one  of  the  lower,  or 
peasant,  class  to  rise  to  leadership  and  play  the  role  of  reformer 
was  impossible,*  for  the  chiefs  would  scorn  to  follow  his  lead, 
and   the  people  would   not   follow  without   their   chiefs.     Even 

*  This  is  not  all  inconsistent  with  considerable  freedom  in  the  social 
intercourse  between  chiefs  and  people,  but  it  is  the  freedom  between 
a  master  and  a  servant  of  the  same  family  as  himself  on  whose  fidelity 
he  knows  he  can  rely: 


HENRY  BECOMES   KING   OF   IRELAND.  419 

a  chief  who  exhibited  reforming  zeal  would  be  met  with  many 
difficulties.  The  Brehon  would  solemnly  warn  him  that  these 
institutions,  political  and  social,  were  handed  down  to  them 
by  their  ancestors,  and  the  Bard  was  ready  to  sing  the  praises 
of  a  system  which  had  survived  the  shocks  of  fifteen  hundred 
years.  A  strong  man  might  have  despised  the  solemn  warning 
of  the  Brehon  and  the  rhapsodies  of  the  Bard,  but  this  was  not 
enough.  He  should  have,  besides,  many  of  those  very  qualities 
which  his  fellow  chieftains  lacked,  strong  will,  great  intelligence, 
the  instinct  and  spirit  of  a  commander  ;  he  should  be  patient, 
persevering,  knowing  his  own  mind  well,  with  a  fixed,  well- 
defined  purpose,  and  ready  to  crush  anyone  and  everyone  that 
stood  in  his  path.  Such  a  leader  both  chiefs  and  people  would 
have  followed.  And  they  would  have  supported  him,  when 
he  taught  them  to  build  towns  and  engage  in  commerce,  and 
plough  the  sea  in  their  ships  and  grasp  from  the  waves  the  wealth 
they  contained,  and  mingle  with  foreign  nations  and  learn  from 
them,  and  abandon  institutions  which  were  centuries  too  old, 
and  under  which  no  nation  on  earth  could  prosper.  Reform- 
ation from  within  required  some  such  man.  No  man  of  moderate 
talents  would  suffice — among  the  O'Donnells  and  O'Neills, 
and  O'Briens  and  Fitzgeralds  there  were  many  such.  The 
nation  cried  aloud  for  a  man  of  genius,  but  five  centuries  rolled 
by  since  Brian  died  at  Clontarf,  and  not  one  such  Irishman 
appeared. 

A  bad  man  may  sometimes  do  good,  and  when  he  does,  he 
deserves  credit,  and  it  cannot  be  said  that  in  effecting  the  changes 
he  did  in  Ireland,  Henry  VIII.  was  unnecessarily  harsh.  From 
the  tyrant  whose  hands  were  ever  dripping  with  the  best  blood 
of  England,  and  whose  cruelties  raised  him  to  the  same  level 
as  Nero  or  Domitian,  kindness  or  consideration  is  the  last  thing 
the  Irish  might  expect.  Yet  he  showed  both,  and  his  policy 
and  acts  in  Ireland  are  in  marked  contrast  with  his  policy  and 
acts  in  England.  The  suggestions  of  his  officials  at  Dublin 
that  the  Leinster  clans  were  to  be  exterminated  or  banished, 
he  rejected  with  emphasis,  even  O'Connor  of  Offaly  he  forgave 
and  honoured,  and  old  Turlogh  O'Toole,*  who  desired  to  see 
him,  he  treated  in  London  with  marked  kindness,  protected 
him  against  the  rapacity  of  his  Irish  officials,  and  watched  over 


*  This  Turlogh  had  declared  that  he  would  not  n:iake  war  on  the 
Pale,  as  long  as  the  great  lords — O'Neill  and  O'Donnell — were  at  war  with 
the  English  ;  on  the  contrary  he  would  assist  the  Deputy?  but  as  soon  as 
the  great  chiefs  were  at  peace  then  he  would  make  war  on  the  Deputy 
himself^  "  which  promise  he  truly  kept  "  (says  St.  Leger.)  {State  Papers^ 
II.j  pp5  267-8.) 


420  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

his  interests  with  something  Hke  paternal  care.*  He  had  the 
good  sense  to  see  that  in  the  more  remote  parts  of  the  country, 
such  as  Connaught  and  Tirconnell,  there  was  danger  in  using 
harsh  or  precipitate  measures,  and  he  was  willing  to  allow  time 
for  the  old  order  to  be  finally  abandoned  and  for  the  new  order 
of  things  to  succeed.  He  was  a  tyrant,  but  in  Ireland,  and 
to  those  who  submitted  peacefully,  his  was  a  benevolent  despotism. 

The  few  last  years  of  his  reign  were  not  marked  by  any  notable 
Irish  events.  Of  all  the  chiefs  O'Donnell  was  the  most  active. 
He  wasted  Lower  Connaught  (1542),  and  insisted  on  being 
paid  his  rent  by  the  chiefs.  The  same  year  he  attacked  the 
MacQuillans  in  the  north.  The  next  year  he  was  at  war  with 
Maguire  and  with  O'Doherty  of  Innishowen,  and  later  still  with 
O'Gallagher  (1544).  In  this  latter  year,  the  Earl  of  Clanrickard 
died,  and  there  were  disputes  about  the  succession,  and  the 
next  year  (1545),  O'Rorke  was  at  war  with  O'Kelly  and  Burke. j 
But  these  wars  were  local  and  temporary,  and  no  national 
issue  was  at  stake,  nor  did  any  chief  care  to  measure  swords 
with  the  King's  deputy.  And  when  O'More  and  O'Connor 
of  Offaly  did  so,  they  were  promptly  driven  from  their  territories 
and  declared  outlaws,  and  such  was  the  terror  of  England's 
power  that  when  these  chieftains  returned  from  their  exile  in 
Connaught  (1547),  and  attempted  to  recover  what  they  had 
lost,  no  Irish  chief  dared  give  them  help  or  protection,  or  even 
food. J  At  last  the  native  chiefs  felt  they  had  a  master  whom  it 
was  not  so  difficult  to  serve,  but  whom  it  was  dangerous  to  provoke 
and  fatal  to  disobey.  It  is  not  surprising  to  be  told  by  the 
Four  Masters  that  "  at  this  time  the  power  of  the  English  was 
great  and  immense  in  Ireland  ;  "  |i  it  is  more  surprising  to  learn 
from  an  Irish  Annalist  that  the  suppressor  of  monasteries  was 
a  good  king.** 

The  Irish  were  cowed,  but  they  were  not  yet  crushed.  The 
strength  of  the  various  chiefs  was  still  unimpaired,  and  if  the 
government  at  Dublin  became  weak,  and  England  became 
involved  in  some  disastrous  war,  they  might  renounce  their 
allegiance  and  turn  to  their  ancient  ways.  The  chiefs  who 
submitted  were  certainly  the  most  powerful,  and  the  terms  in 
which  they  submitted  were  as  slavish  as  they  could  be,  yet  even 
such  submissions  did  not  necessarilv  involve  the  acauiescence  of 


*  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  370,  3955 
f  Four  Masters: 
X  Ibid.     Ware's  Atinals. 
II  Four  Masters: 

** Annals  of  Loch  Ce — ^  it  is  certain  that  there  came  not  in  later  times 
a  better  King." 


HENRY  BECOMES   KING   OF   IRELAND.  42 1 

the  whole  people.  When  O'Brien  was  pressed  to  come  to  terms 
by  the  Deputy,  he  answered  he  was  but  one  man  and  had  to 
consult  the  various  Dalcassian  chiefs,*  and  these  chiefs  were 
free  to  support  him  or  not,  and  could  only  be  coerced  by  force. 
The  greater  chiefs  had  renounced  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope — 
a  condition  strictly  insisted  on  by  Henry — and  had  in  some 
cases  pleaded  for  a  share  in  the  plunder  of  the  monasteries, 
but  the  lesser  chiefs  might  not  apostatise  with  equal  readiness. 
They  sympathised  with  the  monks,  driven  out  from  their 
monasteries,  and  could  not  willingly  acquiesce  in  a  change  under 
which  such  things  could  be.  They  had  long  believed,  as  part 
of  their  religion,  that  the  Pope  was  in  spiritual  matters  the 
head  of  their  church,  and  they  would  not  regard  with  favour 
dethroning  him  and  putting  a  man  of  Henry's  base  character 
in  his  place.  From  such  causes  as  these  it  seemed  likely  that 
trouble  would  come  ;  and  to  the  thoughtful  it  was  evident  that 
the  conquest  of  Ireland  was  neither    final  nor  complete, 

*  State  Papers^  Vol.  III.j  p.  288. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 
The    Reformation    in    Ireland. 

Unrest  and  discontent  throughout  Europe,-  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries — Wyclyffe  and  the  Lollards — The  Church  in  Germany — 
In  Ireland  no  general  demand'  for  a  change  of  doctrine — Fitz- Ralph 
of  Armagh  — Some  abuses  in  the  Irish  Church  —  The  Pander's 
description — The  Fifth  Lateran  Council — Its  decrees — Luther — Henry 
VIII.,  "Defender  of  the  Faith" — His  divorce— Act  of  Supremacy — 
The  new  doctrines  in  Ireland — Archbishop  Browne — His  conduct  in 
England — Attempt  to  pass  the  Act  of  Supremacy  in  the  Irish  Parlia- 
ment— The  Opposition — Browne's  arguments — The  Proctors — The 
Act  passed — Browne's  preaching — His  difficulties — His  success — 
He  undertakes  "  to  pull  down  idols  " — The  monasteries  attacked — 
The  first  martyrs — The  new  doctrines  in  the  Pale — Apostacy  of  the 
native  chiefs — Letter  of  O'Brien  of  Thomond — Obstacles  to  the  spread 
of  the  new  doctrines — Character  of  the  Reformers — Browne  and 
Staples — Lord  Leonard  Gray — Henry  VIII. — His  changes  of  faith — 
Constancy  of  the  mass  of  the  people. 

In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  there  was  much  unrest 
among  the  masses  throughout  Europe.  Heavily  taxed,  oppressed 
by  their  feudal  lords,  their  property  and  their  lives  squandered 
in  repeated  wars,  their  discontent  was  deep-seated  and  bitter, 
and  only  a  leader  and  an  opportunity  were  required  to  make 
them  revolt.*  In  England,  Wyclyffe  had  come  into  prominence, 
and  his  teaching  attracted  many  and  served  to  aggravate  and 
intensify  the  existing  discontent.  Like  many  other  reformers, 
he  allowed  his  zeal  to  outrun  his  discretion,  and  not  content 
with  demanding  liberty  for  the  people,  he  attacked  both  the 
ecclesiastical  and  civil  authority.  And  he  attacked  the  doctrines 
of  the  church  as  well  as  its  discipline.  Against  landed  property 
in  ecclesiastical  hands,  against  pilgrimages,  against  episcopal 
and  papal  laws,  against  religious  orders,  against  all  these  and 
more  he  preached,  and  he  added  that  the  Bible  should  be  read 
by  all,  and  that  each  was  capable  of  interpreting  it  for  himself. 
Though  he  was  opposed  to  the  friars,  he  adopted  their  simple 
dress.      His  followers,  dressed  in  the  same  fashion,  went  among 

*  Lingard,    Vol.  ill.,  p.  141. 


THE   REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  423 

the  people  and  preached  to  them,  and  exceeded  even  their 
master's  vehemence  and  fanaticism.  Both  church  and  states 
feeling  menaced  by  these  attacks,  united  in  defence.  Wyclyfie's 
followers  were  branded  with  the  opprobrious  name  of  Lollards, 
the  severest  laws  were  passed  against  them  and  were  rigorously 
enforced  ;  Sir  John  Oldcastle,  the  most  prominent  among  them, 
was  executed  (141 7)  *  ;  the  bones  of  Wyclyffe  himself  were 
dug  up  (1428),  and  burned  as  the  bones  of  a  heretic  ;  the  gallows, 
the  headsman's  axe,  the  burning  fagot  ended  the  lives  of  many 
and  intimidated  the  remainder  ;  and  long  before  the  sixteenth 
century  dawned,  the  Lollards  as  a  sect  having  influence  or  power 
had  ceased  to  exist.  Transferred  to  Gerniany,  Wyclyffe's  errors 
were  planted  in  a  congenial  soil,  and  in  large  part  supplied  Huss 
and  Jerome  of  Prague  with  the  doctrines  which  they  taught.f 
Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  state  of  the  church  in  Germany 
called  loudly  for  reform.  Bishops  were  appointed  who  had 
neither  the  vocation  to  the  office  nor  its  spirit.  Belonging 
to  the  noble  families  of  the  Empire,  they  owed  their  position 
to  family  influence.^  They  were  feudal  nobles  rather  than 
ecclesiastics,  idle,  ignorant,  voluptuous,  making  many  and 
onerous  demands  on  the  people  ;  their  clergy  caught  the  manners 
and  imitated  the  conduct  of  their  bishops  ;  somie  of  them  held 
several  benefices  and  discharged  the  ecclesiastical  duties  either 
by  deputy  or  not  at  all,  and  laxness,  irregularity  and  even  worse 
had  entered  the  monasteries.  The  residence  of  the  Popes  at 
Avignon  brought  them  too  much  under  French  influence  and 
lost  them  the  affection  and  finally  the  allegiance  of  the  Germans. 
The  Great  Schism,  when  a  Pope  and  anti-Pope  thundered 
anathemas  against  each  other,  scandalised  the  faithful ;  a  series 
of  Popes,  worldly  minded  and  ambitious  for  the  advancement 
of  their  own  families,  made  matters  worse,  and  that  the  church 
survived  the  shock  of  such  a  Pope  as  Alexander  VL  ought  to 
convince  even  the  most  sceptical  that  she  was  built  upon  a 
rock  by  her  Divine  Founder,  and  had  His  assurance  of  in- 
defectibility.  The  fall  of  Constantinople  had  driven  many 
scholars  west  whose  influence  became  great  over  the  minds 
of  men,  and  who  were  imbued  with  no  friendly  feelings  towards 
the  Church  of  Rome.  In  the  study  of  antiquity  which  followed, 
the  novelty  and  charm  of  pagan  letters  appeared  and  excited 
admiration  and  enthusiasm  ;  scholasticism  and  orthodoxy  became 

*  Lingard,  Vol.  III.,  p.  253. 

t  Alzog's  Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  99-110. 

X  The  following  case  is  given  by  a  contemporary  writer — Albert  of 
Brandenburg,  brother  of  the  Margrave,  at  18  was  Canon  of  Mainz,  at  20 
Archbishop  of  Magdeburgh,  at  24  Archbishop  of  Mainz  and  Primate 
ofj^Germany.     (Lilly — Renaissance   Types — pp.  256-7.) 


424  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

unfashionable  and  gave  way  to  flippant  infidelity  ;  it  became 
the  rule  to  appeal  to  reason  rather  than  authority,  and  like 
Plato  to  acknowledge  its  supremacy  ;  the  lives  of  Popes  and 
bishops  and  monks,  their  ambitions,  their  intrigues,  their  want 
of  piety  became  the  favourite  subject  of  satire  and  epigram  ; 
and  when  Luther  appeared  the  materials  were  at  hand 
for  a  mighty  change. 

Its  insular  position  left  Ireland  out  of  the  range  of  these 
influences.  Its  people,  engaged  in  pastoral  occupations,  held 
little  commercial  intercourse  with  the  Continent.  Its  scholars 
no  longer  went  to  teach  in  foreign  universities,  nor  did  foreigners 
come  to  learn  in  Ireland,  for  the  glory  of  the  Irish  schools  had 
passed  away.  Even  the  eastern  portion  of  the  country,  which 
was  largely  leavened  by  English  influence  and  in  frequent 
communication  with  England,  was  little,  if  at  all,  affected  by 
Wyclyffe  and  his  followers.  The  whole  nation  firmly  held  by 
the  ancient  faith,  and  though  there  were  many  things  in  the 
church  which  would  bear  improvement,  there  was  no  demand 
and  no  desire  for  a  reform  of  dogma,  whatever  desire  there  might 
be  for  other  reforms.  Never  once  since  the  English  came  did 
any  party  arise  with  a  demand  for  a  change  of  doctrine,  and 
the  number  of  cases  were  few,  where  even  individuals  had  any 
novel  doctrines  to  propound.  In  the  fourteenth  century, 
one  Adam  Duff,  one  of  the  O'Tooles  of  Wicklow,  publicly  made 
some  aspersions  on  the  chastity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary. 
He  was  not  a  preacher  and  had  no  followers,  nor  was  he  permitted 
to  hold  such  views  with  impunity,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
laws  of  the  time  he  was  arrested  (1328),  and  publicly  burned 
as  a  heretic  in  Dublin.*  The  same  fate  befell  two  men  at 
Waterford,  though  what  doctrines  they  held  does  not  appear.f 
More  serious  than  either  of  these  was  the  condition  of  Ossory 
(1335),  where  some  heretics  taught  that  Christ  was  a  sinful 
man  and  was  justly  crucified,  that  His  Sacred  Body  was  not 
to  be  worshipped,  nor  did  they  accept  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Eucharist  nor  the  decrees  of  pontiffs.  J  They  also  consulted 
demons,  and  one  of  them,  Alice  Kettler,  was  executed  at  Kilkenny 
for  witchcraft. 

The  most  prominent  person  to  come  into  conflict  with  the 
Church's  teaching  and  to  merit  and  receive  its  censures  was 
FitzRalph,    Archbishop    of     Armagh.  ||      He    was    a    native    of 

*  Grace's  Annals. 

t  Mant  ;  History  of  the  Church  of  Ireland,  Vol.  I.,  p.  21. 

X  Theiner  ;  Vetera  Monumenta  Hibernoruin  et  Scotorum.  (Letter 
from  Benedict  XII.,  to  the  King  of  England,  1335.) 

II  Ware's  Bishops.  Stokes  :  Ireland  and  the  Anglo-Norman  Churchi 
PPJ  334-5- 


THE   REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  425 

Dundalk,  and,  educated  at  Oxford,  he  became  Chancellor  of  that 
University,  and  from  that  position  was  promoted  to  be  Archbishop 
of  Armagh.  The  mendicant  friars  were  then  active  in  the 
diocese  of  Armagh.  Their  power  and  influence  roused  the  jealousy 
of  the  new  Primate  ;  perhaps  they  encroached  upon  his  rights, 
at  least  they  excited  his  anger,  and  in  a  series  of  sermons  delivered 
in  London  (1356),  he  attacked  the  mendicant  orders  in  general. 
He  pointed  out  that  Christ  when  on  earth  was  always  poor, 
that  He  never  begged  nor  taught  men  to  beg,  but  on  the  contrary 
that  they  ought  not  voluntarily  to  beg,  and  from  this  he  deduced 
that  voluntary  poverty  is  not  a  necessary  part  of  the  rule  of 
the  mendicant  friars,  nor  could  they  consistently  with  prudence 
and  sanctity  bind  themselves  by  vow  to  perpetual  begging. 
He  did  not  object  to  their  receiving  what  was  freely  offered 
them,  but  only  that  they  should  not  beg.  Their  right  to  preach 
and  hear  confessions  in  his  diocese  he  also  disputed,  but  when 
the  superiors  of  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  appealed  to 
the  Pope,  judgment  was  given  in  their  favour.  *  Two  centuries 
after  Fitz-Ralph's  death,  the  Reformers  held  a  Synod  at  Dundalk, 
at  which,  under  George  Dowdall,  the  dead  Primate  was  pro- 
nounced to  be  a  saint,  and  it  was  directed  that  in  the  future 
the  festival  of  St.  Richard  should  be  celebrated.  In  their  eyes 
it  was  a  merit  that  he  had  fought  with  the  friars  and  been 
condemned  by  the  Pope.  By  all  he  was  admitted  to  be  a  scholar 
of  eminence,  his  personal  character  was  above  reproach,  but 
it  was  reserved  for  the  Reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century  to 
discover  that  he  was  also  a  saint.f  He  is  sometimes  considered 
to  be,  as  a  reformer,  the  forerunner  of  Wyclyffe,  but  whatever 
his  influence  may  have  been  in  England  he  founded  no  sect 
in  Ireland,  and  until  the  sixteenth  century  there  was  no  party, 
such  as  the  Lollards  or  the  Hussites,  and,  after  Fitz-Ralph,  no 
individual  appeared  ready  to  depart  from  ancient  and  established 
beliefs  or  make  them    the  subject  of  attack. 

But  while  the  unchangeable  character  of  the  nation's  faith 
is  thus  established,  it  cannot  be  affirmed  that  the  church  was 
in  a  healthy  condition,  nor  denied  that  abuses  existed  similar 
in  some  respects  to  those  which  existed  in  England  and  Germany. 
The  Archdeacon  of  Waterford  had  to  be  dispensed  by  Pope 
Alexander  IV.,  having  held  and  still  holding  a  plurality  of  benefices, 
Honorius  IV.  dispensed  the  Dean  of  Dublin  for  a  similar  reason, 
and  Boniface  found  it  necessary  to  appoint  a  commission  to 
sit  in  judgment  on  the  Archbishop  of  Tuam  (1303),  who, 
blinded   by  cupidity   (caeca    cupiditate   seductus),    had    usurped 

*  Stuart's  Historical  Memoirs  of  Armagh  (ed.  Coleman),  pp.  107-8. 
f  Olden;    The  Church  of  Ireland,  p.  307. 


426  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

the  see  of  Annaghdown  and  also  of  Mayo,  and  took  possession 
of  their  revenues.*  Bishops  were  appointed  through  the 
influence  of  the  English  king  f  and  were  usually  of  English 
birth.  They  knew  not  a  word  of  Irish,  they  were  always  zealous 
for  English  interests,  and  had  no  sympathy  with  the  natives. 
The  abbots  and  priors  of  monasteries  were  great  landholders, 
some  of  whom  lived  in  England,  and  those  living  in  Ireland 
were  like  the  feudal  lords  around  them,  sitting  as  peers  in 
Parliament,  and  concerned  more  with  temporal  than  with 
spiritual  affairs.  The  clergy  of  Irish  and  English  descent  seldom 
agreed,  and  even  the  monasteries  were  often  the  scenes  of  such 
quarrels.  In  the  districts  still  subject  to  native  chiefs,  the  love 
of  learning  survived,  ;|:  and  it  was  during  the  troubled  times 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  that  Augustin  Magraidin  continued 
the  Annals  of  Tighernach,  that  MacFirbis  compiled  the  Book 
of  Leccan,  and  that  Maguire  of  Fermanagh  wrote  the  Annals 
ofUlster.W  But  there  was  a  falling  away  and  a  Papal  Commissary 
who  visited  Clonmacnoise  and  described  it  (15 15)  shows  how 
great  was  that  fall.  "  On  the  right  towards  the  east  is  a  cathedral 
church  almost  ruined,  unroofed,  with  one  altar  only,  covered 
with  straw,  having  a  sniall  sacristy  with  one  set  of  vestments 
only  and  a  brass  crucifix.  Here  Mass  is  seldom  celebrated."** 
Among  the  people  around  the  very  name  of  its  founder — St. 
Kieran — was  unknown.  To  such  a  condition  was  that  school 
brought  whose  fame  once  resounded  through  Europe.  The 
churches  in  each  clan,  if  they  were  favoured  and  protected 
by  their  own  chiefs,  became  the  objects  of  aversion  and  attack 
at  the  hands  of  some  hostile  chief,  nor  was  it  unusual  for  an 
invader  to  burn  and  destroy  the  churches  of  a  territory  through 
which  he  marched.  These  churches  were  in  his  enemy's 
province,  and  as  such  deserved  to  be  attacked.  When  the 
fire  and  vigour  of  youth  were  chilled  by  age,  when  death 
approached  and  the  shadow  of  futurity  was  cast  upon  his  path, 
the  influence  of  religion  re-appeared,  the  chief's  thoughts  became 
of  a  more  sombre  cast,  and  not  infrequently  he  donned  the  garb 
of  a  simple  monk,  and  ended  his  days  in  a  convent  cell.  But 
while  youth  and  strength  remained,  his  ambition  was  for  war, 
and  the  influence  of  religion  was  powerless  to  restrain  him  from 
violence  and  sacrilege.  The  Pander  attributes  the  disordered 
state  of  the  country  (15 15)  to  the  bishops  and  clergy,  "  for  there 

*  Theiner  ;    Vetera   Monumenla; 

t  This  fact  is  abundantly  proved  from  the  State  Papers. 
%  Stokes  ;    Ireland  and  the  jinglo-Norman  Church,  pp.  371-2.    Ware's- 
Writers. 

II  Olden,  p.  282. 

**   Ibid.,  p.   287.     (Quotation   from   Theiner.) 


THE   REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  427 

is  no  Archbishop,  abbot  or  prior,  parson  nor  vicar,  nor  any 
other  person  of  the  church,  high  or  low,  great  or  small,  English 
or  Irish,  that  preaches  the  word  of  God  except  the  poor  friars 
beggars."*  And  when  the  disorders  that  prevailed  are 
remembered,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable,  that  either  the 
friars'  utmost  efforts  were  powerless  to  stem  the  tide  of  lawless- 
ness, or  that  the  zeal  of  the  friars  themselves  had  grown  cold. 
Nearly  four  centuries  after  the  days  of  St.  Malachy,  we  are 
confronted  with  a  state  of  things  similar  to  what  existed  in 
his  day,  but  in  the  sixteenth  century  no  man  such  as  Malachy 
appeared  to  take  up  the  work  of  reform.  And  it  never 
occurred  to  the  Irish  that  a  reformer  would  come  from  England, 
least  of  all  that  he  would  be  found  in  the  person  of  Henry  VIII, 
At  the  Fifth  Lateran  Council  (15 12),  decrees  were  passed 
providing  for  a  reform  of  morals  and  discipline.  A  plurality 
of  benefices  in  the  hands  of  a  single  person,  concubinage  of  the 
clergy,  and  the  excessive  use  of  the  study  of  pagan  classics  were 
all  condemned.^  But  these  measures  were  halting  and  in- 
sufficient, the  existing  evils  were  of  long  standing  and  of  the 
gravest  nature  and  required  the  most  drastic  measures,  and 
there  was  no  advantage  in  passing  decrees  without  seeing  that 
these  decrees  were  enforced.  Nor  was  it  likely  that  such  would 
be  done  under  a  pontiff  such  as  Leo  X.  I  The  well-meaning 
within  the  church,  who  deplored  the  ills  which  existed  and 
hoped  for  a  reformation  from  within,  were  disheartened.  The 
innovator,  the  daring  speculator,  the  Christian  who  had  the 
pagan  rather  than  the  Christian  spirit,  the  bishop  without 
learning,  the  priest  without  piety,  the  monk  without  morals — 
all  these  would  regard  a  change  to  a  stricter  discipline  and  purer 
morals  without  enthusiasm  and  even  with  regret.  The  party 
who  cried  out  for  a  change  of  doctrine  and  who  were  ready 
to  break  with  the  ancient  church  were  hourly  gathering  strength, 
and  they  found  a  suitable  leader  in  the  person  of  Martin  Luther. 
He  was  a  monk  but  had  none  of  the  monk's  humility, ||  and  as 
professor  at  Wittenberg  he  indulged  in  a  boldness  and  freedom 
of  speech  not  usual  in  one  of  his  order.  In  his  Address  to  the 
German  Nobles  he  made  good  use  of  the  abuses  that  prevailed 
in  Germany — the  vast  sums  of  money  sent  from  Germany  to 
Rome,  the  benefices  kept  vacant  and  their  revenues  used  by 
foreign  bishops,  the  excesses  in  collecting  money  for  indulgences 
committed  by  Tetzel  and  others.      He  pointed  out  how   after 

*  Slaie  Papers  (Henry  VIII.),  Vol.  II.,  p.  i,  ei  seq: 

t  Alzog  ;   Church  History,  Vol.  III.^  p.  yj . 

\  Roscoe  ;  Life  of  Leo  X. 

II  Luther's  ;  Primary   Works,    (Ware  and   Bucheim),  p.   299. 


428  HISTORY    OF    IRELAND. 

all  this  the  Germans  were  despised  at  Rome ;  the  Emperor 
was  but  the  satellite  of  the  Pope  ;  he  roused  Teutonic  pride 
to  shake  off  Italian  predominance  and  among  his  own  countrymen 
became  a  leader  and  a  hero.  He  professed  allegiance  to  the 
Pope,*  though  he  called  the  Popes  Antichrists  and  wolves,f 
and  he  maintained  that  he  was  still  in  the  church  though  he 
taught  the  novel  doctrines  that  justification  came  by  faith 
alone,  X  that  ceremonies  were  useless  and  that  there  were  only  three 
Sacraments — Baptism,    Penance,    and    the    Eucharist.  || 

His  attack  on  the  Sacraments  was  vigorously  replied  to  by 
Henry  VHI.  of  England.  Until''the  death  of  his  elder  brother, 
the  King  was  intended  for  church  preferment.  He  had  a  taste 
and  an  aptitude  for  theological  discussion,  and  he  replied  to  Luther 
so  effectively  that  he  was  rewarded  by  the  Pope  (1521)  with 
the  title  of  Defender  of  the  Faith,  a  title  which  succeeding  English 
kings  with  strange  inconsistency  have  ever  since  retained. 
In  the  ten  years  that  followed,  the  faith  of  the  monarch  remained 
unchanged,  but  his  morals  did  not  improve.  His  queen  was 
no  longer  young.  Her  amiable  disposition,  her  lofty  character, 
her  faith,  her  constancy,  her  affection  for  the  King  were  not 
lessened  by  time,  but  the  bloom  and  freshness  of  youth  was 
gone,  and  she  was  no  longer  able  to  hold  captive  the  wayward 
affections  of  her  husband.  His  animal  passions  were  strong, 
he  was  impatient  of  the  least  restraint,  his  amours  were  many 
and  diversified — and  if  Anne  Boleyn  were  willing  to  be  simply 
his  mistress  he  would  have  never  troubled  about  a  divorce.  But 
she  was  not  willing  to  be  Henry's  mistress;  her  ambition  was  to  be 
a  queen,  and  the  King,  a  captive  to  her  youthful  charms,  pretended 
to  have  scruples  about  the  validity  of  his  marriage  with  Catherine, 
and  petitioned  Rome  for  a  divorce.  Vv'^hen  his  petition  was 
refused  by  the  Pope,  he  got  his  own  creature,  Cranmer,  to 
pronounce  the  ^nullity  of  his  marriage  with  Catherine,  forthwith 
married  Anne  Boleyn,  renounced  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope 
and  declared  that  himself  was,  under  Christ,  the  supreme  head 
01  the  church  in  England.  The  obsequious  Parliament  passed 
the  Act  of  Supremacy  (1534),  recognising  Henry  as  head  of 
the  Church  and  State,  the  oath  of  supremacy  became  the  test 
of  loyalty,  and  those  who  refused  to  take  it  were  cast  into  prison, 
some  of  them  starved  there,  others  executed  at  the  block,  and 
not  a  few  burned  at  the  stake.  Henry  took  his  new  position 
quite  seriously  and  seemed  to  think  that  like  the  Pope  he  had 
the     plenitude    of    spiritual    power.       He     appointed    Cromwell 

*  Luther's  Primary   Works  (Ware  and  Bucheim)  p.  422. 
t  Ibidi;  p.  356.       {Babylonish  Captivity  of  the  Church.) 
X  Ibid.,  p.  333. 
11  Ibtd. — Short  Catechism. 


THE   REFORMATION    IN   IRELAND.  429 

Vicar  General  of  the  kingdom,  conferred  benefices,  appointed 
bishops,  granted  dispensations  and  made  it  penal  to  hold  any 
communication  with  Rome. 

The  first  to  accept  the  King's  spiritual  supremacy  in  Ireland 
was  the  Earl  of  Ossory  and  Ormond.  Anxious  to  enjoy  the 
royal  favour,  he  knew  that  this  was  the  most  direct  road  to 
that  end,  and  bound  himself  by  indenture  (May,  1534),  that 
he  would  resist  the  usurped  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome 
and  would  assist  the  King's  Deputy  and  officers  to  make  an 
end  of  it.*  These  officers,  one  and  all,  from  the  Deputy  down, 
had  to  act  as  Ormond  did.  To  take  the  oath  of  supremacy  was 
necessary,  if  they  were  to  be  regarded  as  faithful  servants  or 
even  loyal  subjects.  The  moment  they  refused  to  do  so  their 
position  was  vacated,  some  hungry  place-hunter  stepped  into 
their  shoes,  and  their  liberty,  and  even  life,  were  imperilled.  Fear 
rather  than  conviction  induced  the  Anglo-Irish  lords  within 
the  Pale  to  conform,  otherwise  their  lands  might  be  overrun 
by  the  Deputy  and  his  soldiers,  acting  in  the  King's  name  and 
with  the  King's  hearty  approval.  But  none  of  them  had  any 
enthusiasm  for  the  spread  of  the  new  doctrines,  and  Henry's 
main  reliance  in  Ireland  was  placed  on  Browne,  the  Archbishop 
of  Dublin.  He  had  been  Prior  of  the  Augustinian  Hermits, 
was  greedy,  grasping  and  avaricious,  with  none  of  the  spirit 
of  poverty  which  was  characteristic  of  his  Order,  and  bearing 
the  restraints  of  his  vows  with  such  impatience,  that  when 
he  came  to  Ireland  he  married.  From  the  beginning  he  viewed 
Henry's  break  with  Rome  with  pleasure.  He  was  probably 
one  of  those  who  in  secret  had  sympathised  with  the  doctrines 
of  Luther.  He  approved  of  Henry's  divorce  and  of  his  marriage 
with  Anne  Boleyn,  and  perhaps  it  was  he  who  performed  the 
marriage  service.j  Attaching  himself  to  Cromwell,  he  soon 
became  his  favourite  and  attracted  the  favourable  notice  of 
the  King  and,  in  1534,  was  appointed  one  of  two  visitors  who 
were  to  visit  the  various  monasteries,  report  as  to  their  state 
and  induce  or  compel  the  monks  to  accept  the  King's  spiritual 
supremacy.  The  Franciscan  Observants  and  the  Carthusians 
in  London  and  in  the  south  of  England  he  specially  tormented, 
visited  them  at  all  hours,  argued  with  the  monks,  induced  some 
of  the  weak-minded  and  lax  to  yield,  made  promises  of  preferment 
and  favours  to  others,  threatened  the  obstinate,  and  when  they 
refused  to  change  their  faith  and  rejected  his  promises  as  they 
despised  his  threats,  he  had  them  turned  out  of  the  monasteries. 
Some  were  cast  into  prison,  where  they  perished  of  hunger  and 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.   197. 

t  Gasquet  ;  Henry  VIII.  and  the  English  Monasteries,  p.  5 1 .  (Note.) 


430  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

ill-treatment,  some  were  allowed  to  escape — destitute  and 
fugitives — to  France,  or  Scotland,  or  Ireland,  while  more  than 
one — such  as  Forest — was  burned  at  the  stake.* 

In  May,  1536,  a  parliament  was  summoned  at  Dublin  by 
the  command  of  the  king,  at  which  Archbishop  Browne  used 
all  his  eloquence  to  have  these  Acts  passed  which  had  been  already 
passed  in  England.  The  opposition  of  Cromer,  Archbishop 
of  Armagh,  was  strong  and  persistent  and  was  bitterly  complained 
of  by  Browne,  but  after  a  time  some  of  the  desired  enactments 
were  passed — those  regulating  the  succession  of  the  Crown  and 
some  others.  But  when  it  was  proposed  to  pass  the  Act  of 
Supremacy,  as  had  been  already  done  in  England,  Browne  and 
his  friends  had  greater  difficulty.  The  Archbishop's  speech 
on  the  occasion  has  survived  and  is  rightly  characterised  by 
his  co-religionist,  Mant,  as  more  remarkable  for  brevity  than 
for  argument-t  His  point  is  that  Our  Saviour  paid  tribute 
to  Caesar,  even  though  a  pagan,  so  also  did  the  Popes  to  succeeding 
Emperors,  and,  therefore,  Henry,  for  even  a  stronger  reason, 
being  a  Christian,  was  entitled  to  be  acknowledged  supreme 
both  in  Church  and  State,  and  "  he  who  will  not  pass  this  act 
as  I  do  is  no  true  subject  to  his  highness."  Such  reasoning  as 
this  could  not  have  convinced  even  the  most  dull-witted.  Our 
Saviour  in  His  day  and  the  Popes  after  Him  paid  tribute  to 
pagan  monarchs,  not  as  ecclesiastical  but  as  civil  rulers,  and 
had  the  martyrs  of  the  Colisseum  recognised  the  pagan  Emperors 
as  the  head  of  their  faith,  they  would  never  have  been  cast  to 
wild  beasts.  The  opposition  to  Browne  was  from  the  clergy. 
From  each  diocese  two  representatives,  called  Proctors,  were 
sent  to  Parliament,  and  these  formed  part  of  the  Lower  House, 
and  it  is  of  them  that  Brabazon  in  his  letter  to  Cromwell  specially 
complains.  I  Threats  were  used  against  them,  inducements 
held  out  to  them,  the  Parliament  was  prorogued,  but  neither 
time  nor  threats,  nor  persuasion  could  alter  their  decision, 
nor  purchase  their  assent  ;  and  at  length  it  was  enacted  by 
Parliament  itself,  that  Proctors  had  no  legislative  capacity, 
but  were  only  advisers  and  counsellers.il  When  the  Proctor's 
opposition  was  thus  violently  disposed  of,  there  was  no  difficulty 
in  passing  the  required  Acts,  for   Cromer   and  the  Bishops,  and 

*  Gasquet^    pp.    52-59. 

t  Mant;  History  of  the  Church  of  Ireland,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  1 17-18.  His 
speech  was  "  distinguished  more  for  its  straight-forwardness,  brevity  and 
decision  than  for  deep  argument  or  rhetorical  display." 

%  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  316,  438-9. 

II  Ibid.  These  Proctors,  "  do  temerariously  presume  and  usurpedly 
take  upon  themselves  to  be  parcel  of  the  body — claiming  that  without 
their  assent  nothing  can  be  enacted  at  any  Parliament  within  this^land." 


THE  REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  43 1 

abbots  who  had  seats  in  Parliament  were  outvoted,  and  the  Act 
of  Supremacy  was  passed,  as  also  an  act  giving  the  first  fruits 
and  twentieth  part  of  bishops'  and  abbots'  revenues  to  the 
crown.*  Such  a  Parliament,  if  the  King  demanded  it,  would 
have  enacted  with  equal  readiness  that  the  religion  of  the  State 
should  be  that  of    Buddha  or  Mahomet. 

But  an  Act  of  Parliament  cannot  change  the  faith  of  a  whole 
nation.  It  can  punish  individuals,  but  cannot  affect  their  religious 
convictions.  It  was  necessary  to  reach  their  understanding 
by  persuasion  and  argument,  and  this  Browne  undertook  to  do, 
though  he  soon  found  that  the  task  was  beyond  his  capabilities. 
He  had  already  told  his  friend  Cromwell  (1535),  that  Cromer, 
Archbishop  of  Armagh,  had  preached  strongly  against  the 
King's  spiritual  supremacy  and  had  laid  a  curse  on  those  who 
would  recognise  it,  that  the  bishops  and  clergy  were  in  agreement 
with  him,  and,  that,  as  to  the  people,  they  were  attached  to 
Rome,  and  were  more  zealous  in  their  blindness  than  the  saints 
and  martyrs  were  in  truth  at  the  beginning  of  the  Gospel. f 
Nor  had  he  much  success  to  chronicle,  two  years  later,  and  so 
irritated  was  the  King  at  his  failure,  that  he  wrote  him  an  angry 
letter  attributing  the  barrenness  of  his  efforts  to  his  pride  and 
presumption — "  delighting  in  we  and  us," — reminded  him 
sharply  that  it  was  he  who  made  him  Archbishop,  and  that  he 
could  unmake  him  with  equal  readiness  and  put  another  man 
of  more  virtue  and  honesty  in  his  place. J  This  rebuke  struck 
terror  into  the  Archbishop,  it  made  him,  he  said  himself,  "  tremble 
in  his  body  for  fear  of  incurring  his  majesty's  displeasure. "il  And 
it  appears  to  have  roused  him  to  activity,  for  Lord  James  Butler, 
writing  to  the  King,  early  in  1 538,  speaks  of  the  many  predications 
of  the  Archbishop  and  of  the  success  of  his  teaching,  though 
our  curiosity  is  left  unsatisfied  as  to  the  particulars  of  this 
success.**  Accompanied  by  Allen,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  Sir 
William  Brabazon,  and  Aylmer,  the  Chief  Justice,  Browne, 
in  the  early  part  of  the  next  year  (1539),  made  a  circuit  in  the 
"  four  shires  above  the  Barrow,"  to  publish  the  King's  injunctions, 
to  preach  the  King's  spiritual  supremacy,  and  to  pull  down  idols 
and  extingush  idolatry  and  the  authority  of  the  Bishop  of 
Rome-tt  He  first  preached  at  Carlow,  then  at  Kilkenny, 
afterwards  at  Ross,  Wexford  and  Waterford,  and  finally  at 
Clonmel.      At  this  latter  place  the  statement  is  made    that  two 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  pp.   370-1. 

■j-  Ware's  Annals,  pp.  148-9.     {The  Life  and  Death  of  George  Browne^ 

\  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,-  p.  465? 

II  Ibid.,  p.  513- 

•**  Ibid.,  p.   564.     (Letter,   dated   March    31st,-    1538.) 

X^Ubid.;    Vol.  HI.,-  p.  III. 


432  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

archbishops  and  eight  bishops  took  the  prescribed  Oath  of 
Supremacy  openly,  and  in  presence  of  a  large  congregation.* 
If  this  be  true,  the  action  of  these  bishops  is  in  marked  contrast 
with  that  of  Cromer  and  the  bishops  of  the  northern  province. 
In  the  Council's  letter  the  names  of  the  conforming  bishops  are  not 
given,  but  we  are  left  to  assume  that  they  were  all  bishops  appointed 
by  the  Pope  in  the  usual  way  and  converted  as  a  result  of  Browne's 
teaching.  The  omission  of  their  names  is  strange,  for  Browne 
was  not  remarkable  for  modesty,  and  such  striking  success  as 
this  deserved  to  be  related  in  all  its  details.  But  the  names 
are  given  by  a  modern  writer,  and  are — Butler  of  Cashel,  Bodkin 
of  Tuam,  Milo  Baron  or  Fitzgerald  of  Ossory,  Comyn  of 
Waterford,  Coyne  or  Quin  of  Limerick,  Hurley  of  Emly,  Sanders 
of  Leighlin,  O'Coirin  of  Killaloe,  Tirrey  of  Cork  and  Cloyne  and 
Nangle  of  Clonfert.t  Of  these  bishops,  three  owed  their  position 
to  Henry  VIII. —  Bodkin,  Tirrey  and  Nangle — and  among  them 
Bodkin  was  the  only  apostate  bishop.  As  Bishop  of  Kilmacduagh, 
he  had  taken  the  Oath  of  Supremacy  from  Lord  Leonard  Gray 
(11538),  and  was  appointed  by  Henry  VIII. — but  not  by  the  Pope 
— Archbishop  of  Tuam.  The  others  were  priests  who  apostatised 
for  a  mitre,  but  they  were  never  recognised  by  the  Pope, 
who  in  each  case  had  another  bishop  appointed — Hoveden 
in  Cloyne  and  De  Burgho  in  Clonfert.|  Both  Butler  and 
Fitzgerald  voluntarily  surrendered  monasteries — Athassel  and 
Inistioge — of  which  they  were  priors,  and  perhaps  Browne 
counted  this  suf^cient  conformity.  Coyne  of  Limerick  did 
take  the  oath  from  Lord  Leonard  Gray  (1538),  when  passing 
through  to  Galway.jl  Sanders  is  counted  among  the  reformers,*  * 
but  of  the  others  nothing  is  known,  and  in  relation  to  the  new 
doctrines,  not  one  of  them,  except  perhaps  Nangle,  could  be 
called  an  enthusiastic  witness.  In  their  letter  to  Cromwell 
the  Irish  Council  were  therefore  wise  in  not  entering  into 
particulars.  To  state  vaguely  that  ten  bishops  were  converted 
by  a  single  sermon  was  imposing.  It  showed  that  Browne 
was  zealous  in  doing  the  work  of  his  royal  master,  and  that  the 
seed  of  the  new  doctrine  which  he  had  cast  from  him  had  not 
fallen  upon  rocky  ground,  but,  on  the  contrary,  had  produced 
fruit   a    hundred    fold. 

In  undertaking  "  to  pull  down  idols  "  the  reformers  did  not 

*  State  Papers,  p.  117;  (The  Council  to  Cromwell),  Browne  is  one  of  the 
signatories  to  the  document. 

f  Bagwell ;     Ireland  under  the  Tudor s,  p.  305. 

X  Ware's  Bishops.      State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  516 

II  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.,  p.  59. 

**He  is  so  counted,  at  least  by  Harris  the  editor  of  Wara  (.Ware's 
Bishops.) 


THE   REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  433 

confine  themselves  to  words.  Their  master — Henry — had 
despoiled  the  churches  in  England  and  robbed  the  monasteries  ; 
his  rapacity  demanded  the  spoils  of  the  Irish  churches  and 
monasteries  as  well ;  and  his  servants  in  Ireland  proceeded  to 
carry  out  his  wishes  with  every  circumstance  of  indignity  and 
brutality.  In  Christ  Church,  Dublin,  was  that  noted  and 
venerated  relic  called  the  Bacal  Jesu,  or  Staff  of  Jesus.  Taken 
from  Armagh  in  the  twelfth  century,  it  was  deposited  in  Christ- 
Church,  where  for  nearly  four  centuries  it  remained,  still  used 
as  at  Armagh  to  ratify  solemn  engagements,  still  guarded  with 
jealous  care  ;  and  such  was  the  number  of  pilgrims  from  far 
and  near  who  came  to  visit  the  church  in  which  it  was  contained, 
and  because  it  was  contained  there,  that  a  special  Act  of 
Parliament  was  passed  (1493),  to  guard  them  from  being  molested. 
Besides  this  sacred  relic  was  a  cross  and  a  portable  altar,  to  all 
of  which  miracles  were  ascribed.*  But  neither  age,  nor  the 
sacred  associations  connected  with  them,  nor  the  veneration 
in  which  they  were  held  by  the  people,  could  protect  these  relics 
from  outrage.  Browne  and  his  co-reformers  had  them  forcibly 
removed  from  the  church,  and  to  the  horror  of  the  people  the 
Bacal  Jesu  was  publicly  burned.  At  Ballybogan,  in  Meath, 
an  image  of  our  Saviour  on  the  cross,  to  which  popular 
veneration  was  for  centuries  attached,  was  treated  with  similar 
indignity,  and  the  statue  of  the  Mother  of  God  at  Trim,  which 
so  many  pilgrims  visited  and  which  was  reverenced  by  all,  was 
also  given  to  the  flames.  The  Lord  Deputy  Gray  stabled  his 
horses  in  the  Cathedral  Church  at  Down,  and,  it  is  thought, 
scattered  the  relics  of  St.  Patrick,  St.  Bridget  and  St.  Columba  ; 
he  rifled  the  abbey  of  Ballyclare,  near  Galway,  and  took  away 
all  the  rich  ornaments  from  the  principal  church  at  Galway. 
A  Royal  Commission  of  which  Browne  was  one  was  instituted 
(1539),  the  object  of  which  was  to  search  for  all  images  and 
relics  which  were  special  objects  of  popular  devotion,  and  these 
were  to  be  broken  in  pieces  or  carried  away.f  And  the 
Commission  did  its  work  so  well  that  "  there  was  not  in  Erin 
a  holy  cross  or  a  figure  of  Mary,  or  an  illustrious  image  over 
which  their  power  reached  that  was  not  burned."  | 
)^'  As  in  England,  the  monasteries  were  the  special  objects  of 
attack.  The  plunder  of  the  English  monasteries  had  filled  the 
King's  coffers  to  overflowing,  but  his  greed  was  not  yet  satisfied, 
nor  his  hatred  of  the  monks.      Not  satisfied  with  the  thirteen 


*  Obtis   and    Martyrology   of   Christ    Church.     (Todd's    Introduction.) 
t  Moran's  Archbishops  of  Dublin,  pp.    12-13.     Hardiman's  i7?>/ory  £>/ 
Galway,  p.  239. 

%  Annals  of  Loch  Ce,   1538: 

2F 


434  HISTORY  OF   IRELAND. 

monasteries  suppressed  by  the  Irish  Parliament  in  1537,*  Henry- 
issued  letters  patent  (April,  1539)  directing  Browne  and  his 
fellow-commissioners  to  suppress  all  the  monasteries  that  had 
not  yet  been  suppressed,  or  had  not  been  voluntarily  surren- 
dered.f  The  gold  and  silver  which  they  possessed — the  crosses, 
chalices  and  altar  vessels  of  every  kind,  were  to  be  the  King's 
special  property,  even  the  bells  and  lead  of  the  roofs  were  melted 
down  and  sold,  while  the  lands  were  either  sold  to  the  highest 
bidder  or  given  to  some  royal  favourite.  Resistance  to  these 
decrees  was  futile,  and  many  of  the  monks  and  nuns,  realising 
such  to  be  the  case,  surrendered  their  monasteries  and  convents 
voluntarily,  and  before  15  39  had  passed  away,  besides  a  large 
number  of  the  smaller  religious  houses,  there  were  suppressed, 
either  voluntarily  or  by  force,  twenty-four  monasteries  of  the 
higher  class,  whose  abbots  or  priors  had  sat  in  Parliament  as 
spiritual  peers.;j:  Those  who  voluntarily  surrendered  were  to 
get  a  pension  |1  at  the  discretion  of  the  Commissioners  ;  those 
who  resisted  were  treated  with  severity  and,  in  not  a  few  cases, 
their  lives  were  sacrificed.  What  promises  were  made,  what 
arguments  used,  what  threats  uttered,  what  insults  heaped 
upon  priests  and  monks  and  nuns,  we  do  not  know,  but  it  is 
possible  to  conjecture.  Browne  and  his  fellows  did  not  differ 
much  from  Legh  and  Layton  and  Ap-Rice  in  England,  and  the 
State  Papers  exist  to  tell  of  their  acts  of  wanton  brutality.**  Nor 
do  we  know  the  full  extent  of  the  lives  sacrificed,  but  we  know 
what  happened  in  the  Trinitarian  monasteries  at  Dublin, 
Limerick  and  Atharee  ;  and  the  inference  is  warranted  that 
what  happened  in  other  monasteries  was  not  dissimilar.  The 
Trinitarians  of  Atharee  numbered  forty-two.  Warned  that  the 
King's  officers  were  to  visit  them,  they  made  their  preparations, 
and  distributed  all  their  goods  to  the  poor,  and  when  they  were 
summoned  to  take  the  Oath  of  Supremacy  (February,  1539), 
one  and  all  refused.  Their  superior  declared  on  their  behalf 
that  "  they  recognised  no  head  of  the  Catholic  Church  save  the 
Vicar  of  Christ,  and  as  for  the  King  of  England,  they  regarded 
him  not  even  as  a  member  of  that  Church    but  as  head  of  the 


*  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  370, 

\  Morrin  ;  Calendar  of  the  Patent  and  Close  Rolls,  pp.  52-53.  The 
members  of  the  Commission  were  Browne,  Brabazon,  Allen,  Cowley  and 
Cusake. 

X  Mant,  Vol.  I.,  pp.   158-160. 

II  Morrin,  pp.  55-9.  Nearly  40  such  surrenders  are  recorded.  The 
pensions  vary  from  £^0  to  4  shillings.  The  former  sum  was  given  only 
to  two — the  Prior  of  Fore  and  the  Abbot  of  St.  Mary,  near  Dublin — 
the  latter    sum  to  David  Busher  of  Inistioge  (p.  61.) 

*  *  Gasquet  ;  Henry    V III.,  pp.   79,  et  seq. 


THE   REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  435 

Synagogue  of  Satan."  One  of  the  royal  officers  drew  his  sword 
and  with  a  blow  cut  off  the  head  of  the  intrepid  priest.  Of  the 
other  members  of  the  community  some  were  cast  into  prison 
where  they  died  from  the  injuries  they  received  there,  some 
were  secretly  murdered,  and  others  were  publicly  hanged  in  the 
market-place.  Their  brethren  at  Dublin  displayed  the  same 
constancy  and  gave  the  same  answer  to  the  same  demand,  the 
provincial  being  killed  by  a  musket  ball  and  another  having  his 
head  cloven  in  with  a  stroke  of  a  hatchet.  Of  the  remainder, 
some  at  least  escaped  by  flight.  At  Limerick,  the  coadjutor- 
bishop,  O'Neill,  was  a  member  of  the  same  Order.  Instead 
of  conforming,  he  courageously  entered  the  pulpit  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  royal  officers  exhorted  his  congregation  to  reject 
the  new  doctrines  as  heresy,  and  excommunciated  any  of  those 
who  embraced  them.  It  was  thought  unsafe  to  attack  him  in 
the  presence  of  so  many  people,  but  the  reformers  sought  him 
at  his  house  on  the  same  evening,  and  when  he  refused  the  Oath 
of  Supremacy,  a  blow  of  a  sword  severed  his  head  from  his  body. 
The  Trinitarian  monastery  was  attacked  and  robbed  and  the 
monks  put  to  death.*  The  other  monasteries  of  the  Order 
were  treated  similarly.  Everything  valuable  was  taken  away, 
books  and  manuscripts  were  destroyed,  even  the  buildings  them- 
selves often  levelled  to  the  ground.  Under  a  Christian  king  and 
in  the  name  of  Christianity,  the  atrocities  of  Turgesius  were 
revived. 

These  harsh  measures  wrought  havoc  and  desolation  on  the 
monasteries  and  inflicted  untold  miseries  on  priests  and  monks 
and  nuns,  but  the  faith  of  the  people  remained  the  same.  Agard, 
writing  to  Cromwell  (1538),  mournfully  confesses  that,  except 
Browne,  Brabazon,  Ormond  and  one  or  two  more  of  small 
reputation,  there  is  none  from  the  highest  down  who  accepted 
the  new  doctrines.f  And  Cowley,  writing  a  little  later,  informs 
him  that  the  reformers  are  making  small  progress,  that  "  the 
Papistical  sect  springs  up  and  spreads  abroad  infecting  the  land 
pestiferously. "J  Even  in  Dublin,  Browne  had  to  complain  that 
neither  by  gentle  exhortation,  nor  evangelical  instruction, 
neither  by  oaths  taken  nor  by  threats  of  sharp  correction  could 
he  persuade  or  induce  anyone,  either  religious  or  secular,  amongst 
the  clergy  to  preach  the  word  of  God,  "  or  the  just  title  of  our 
most  illustrious  prince. "|l  The  case  was  similar  in  Kilkenny, 
where  none  had   embraced  the  new  doctrines  but  Lord  Ormond, 


*  Moran's  Archbishops  of  Dublin^  pp.  22-27; 
\  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p:  370. 
X  Ibid.,  Vol.  III.,  p.  50. 
II  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.   539. 


436  HISTORY   OF    IRELAND. 

and  all  the  people  were  imbued  with   "  an  evil  and  erroneous 
opinion  of  the  King's  most  noble  grace."* 

Outside  of  the  Pale  it  seemed  as  if  the  reformers  would  fare 
better.  The  vigour  with  which  Silken  Thomas  was  combated 
and  the  completeness  of  his  defeat  struck  terror  into  the  native 
chiefs.  Unwilling  to  unite,  they  were  separately  unable  to 
resist  so  skilful  and  enterprising  a  leader  as  Gray.  The  union 
of  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell,  which  religion  promised  to  make 
permanent  and  effective,  did  not  long  survive  the  defeat  of 
Bellahoe,  and  one  after  the  other  the  chiefs  made  their  submission. 
Their  only  desire  was  for  their  own  personal  safety.  Of  the 
people  they  thought  nothing.  They  greedily  sought  for  favours 
and  titles  from  the  English  king,  grovelled  in  submission  before 
his  Deputy,  took  the  Oath  of  Supremacy,  and  repudiated  the 
Pope  with  a  vigour  and  strength  of  language  which  was  worthy 
of  Cranmer  or  Cromwell.  The  first  of  these  chiefs  to  submit 
was  Magillapatrick  of  Ossory.  The  position  of  his  territory  so 
near  to  Dublin,  and  therefore  so  convenient  for  attack,  rendered 
it  prudent  that  he  should  placate  the  King's  Deputy  ;  his  relation- 
ship with  Lord  Ormond  j  brought  him  within  the  range 
of  that  nobleman's  influence  ;  there  was  nothing  heroic  in  his 
character  ;  he  was,  on  the  contrary,  selfish,  timorous  and  time- 
serving, and  abandoned  the  faith  of  his  fathers  because  by  doing 
so  he  purchased  security  of  his  lands  and  territory,  and  was 
to  be  made  a  baron  of  Parliament.  The  terms  of  his  submission 
lack  nothing  in  completeness.  He  recognised  Henry  VHI. 
as  supreme  head  of  the  Church  on  earth,  and  he  undertook 
to  do  all  in  his  power  to  totally  abolish  and  extirpate  in  his 
territory  the  usurped  power  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome.J  O'Connor 
of  Offaly  soon  followed  his  example,  and,  in  March  of  the 
following  year,  bound  himself  by  agreement  with  the  Lord 
Deputy  that  henceforth  he  would  not  admit  the  jurisdiction 
or  authority  of  the  Roman  Pontifif  nor  would  he  allow  others 
to  admit  it  when  he  could. ||  The  submission  of  O'More  of  Leix 
is  dated  the  following  August,  and  though  not  so  explicit  as 
O'Connor's,  yet  contains  a  recognition  of  the  King's  supremacy, 
as  he  styles  him  Head  of  the  Church  on  earth  immediately  under 
Christ.     The  other  Leinster  chiefs  acted  similarly,  in  every  case 


*  State  Papers,  vol.  ii.,  p.   562.     (White  to  Cromwell.) 

t  He  was  Ormond's  son-iii-law. 

X  State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  515.  His  submission  is  dated  November, 
1537- 

II  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  560.  "  Promittit  se  posthac  jurisdictionem  et 
auctoritatem  Roman!  Pontificis  non  admittere  nee  ab  aliis,  pro  posse  suo, 
admitti,  recipi,  aut  uti  permittit." 


THE   REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  437 

recognising  that  the   King  and  not  the  Pope  was  the  head  of 
their  Church.* 

The  distant  and  more  powerful  chiefs  still  refused  to  change 
the  faith  in  which  they  were  born  and  in  which  their  fathers 
had  died,  and  it  seemed  unlikely  that  O'Donnell  and  O'Neill, 
and  O'Brien  of  Thomond,  and  Burke  of  Connaught,  and  the 
Earl  of  Desmond  would  act  as  the  Leinster  chiefs  had  done. 
But  it  soon  became  apparent  that  whoever  built  hopes  upon 
their  constancy  might  be  likened  to  him  who  built  upon 
the  drifting  sands.  The  Earl  of  Desmond,  in  humbly  submitting 
himself  to  his  dread  sovereign  Lord  (1541),  as  supreme  head 
of  the  Church,  protested  that  he  utterly  denied  and  forsook  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  and  his  usurped  primacy  and  authority,  and 
that  he  would  with  all  his  power  resist  and  repress  the  same.t 
O'Donnell's  apostacy  soon  followed,  and  its  language  is  equally 
vigorous  and  un-ambiguous.  By  indenture,  dated  August, 
1 541,  he  renounced  and  abandoned  the  usurped  primacy  and 
authority  of  the  Roman  Pontiff,  nor  would  he  protect  or  defend 
or  even  permit  any  adherent  of  the  Pope  in  his  territory,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  with  all  diligence  and  zeal  would  expel  them 
or  reduce  them  to  submission  to  the  King. J  Such  was  the 
language  of  Manus  O'Donnell,  the  founder  of  the  Franciscan 
monastery  of  Donegal.  But  a  short  time  intervened  until  Con 
O'Neill  also  made  his  submission,  and,  in  the  same  full  and 
explicit  terms  as  O'Donnell,  renounced  the  usurped  authority 
of  Rome,  and  recognised  Henry  as  the  head  of  the  Church.  |! 
He  who  had  been  appealed  to  by  the  Bishop  of  Metz,  as  the 
champion  of  the  faith  in  Ireland,  thus  shamefully  abandoned 
it.  One  of  the  last  to  submit  was  O'Brien  of  Thomond,  and 
the  terms  in  which  he  addresses  Henry  are  those  of  the  most 
abject,  even  sickening,  servility.  He  calls  him  the  most 
worthy  of  kings  or  emperors  on  earth  living,  submits  himself 
in  everything  to  the  King's  deputy,  and  protests  that  he  must 
make,  in  addition,  his  submission  to  the  King  himself,  whom  he 
desires  to  see  above  all  creatures  on  earth  living.**    It  was  the 


*  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.,  p.  90. 

I  Ibid.,  pp.  286-7.  He  took  the  oath  to  St.  Leger,  the  Deputy  (January^ 
1540),  on  his  knees,  and  in  presence  of  two  hundred  persons,  including 
the  Archbishop  of  Cashel  and   the  Bishops  of  Limerick  and   Emly. 

I  Ibid.,  p.   318. 

li  ma.,  p.  353. 

**Ibid.,  p.  345.  It  is  worth  while  giving  this  letter  in  full.  It  will 
show  the  character  of  these  chiefs,  of  whom  O'Brien  was  not  the  worst : 
"  Most  excellent,  myghtie,  replete  withe  all  verteus  and  grace,  and  moost 
redoubted  Kinge  and  Emperour,  undre  God  my  ledge  Lord  and  Vice 
Dei  ;  moost  worthie,  above  all  Kinges  or  Emperours  on  yerthe  lyvinge, 


438  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

language  of  a  slave  in  the  mouth  of  a  hypocrite  and  was  a  fitting 
prelude  to  his  subsequent  request  that  the  religious  houses  in 
Thomond  should  be  suppressed,  and  that  he  should  be  a  sharer 
in  the  plunder.*  The  conduct  of  the  greater  chiefs  was 
universally  copied,  and  both  Anglo-Irish  and  native  chiefs  in 
all  quarters  of  the  country  hastened  to  submit,  and  when  they 
did,  they  were  left  in  peaceful  possession  of  their  lands.  Many 
of  them,  no  doubt,  were  acting  from  fear,  for  they  knew  that 
if  they  did  not  submit  and  take  the  Oath  of  Supremacy  they  would 
be  put  down  as  enemies  of  the  King,  their  property  confiscated 
and  their  lives  imperilled.  Such  sacrifices  men  have  often 
made  for  their  faith,  but  among  the  Irish  leaders  of  that  day 
there  were  no  heroes,  none  who  saw  any  attraction  in  a  martyr's 
crown.  As  they  had  not  the  patriotism  to  forget  their  personal 
jealousies  and  animosities,  and  subordinate  their  personal  feelings 
to  the  common  good,  and  as  they  were  thus  rendered  unable 
to  defend  their  country's  liberty,  for  a  similar  reason  they  were 
unable,  and  besides  were    unwilling,  to  defend  its  faith. 

That  these  chiefs  were  sincere  in  taking  the  Oath  of  Supremacy, 
or  that  they  meant    to  carry  out  the  promises  they    had  made, 

to  whom  I,  your  moost  bownde,  obedient  subject,  Maurus  O'Breyne, 
do  onelie  cum,  as  my  moost  bownden  dewtie,  lowlie  submittinge  my  self 
unto  your  Excellencie,  clerelie  to  yield  unto  your  Grace,  my  bodie  landes 
and  goodes,  with  all  and  singular  thinge  or  thinges  quycke  or  deade,  under 
Heavyn  and  above  yerthe,  and  all  maner  of  degre  or  dignytie  that  I  have,  or 
to  me  by  anye  meanys  appertenithe  or  belongithe,  into  your  Graces  handes, 
therewythe  to  do  your  Gracys  wyill  and  pleasure,  as  to  my  dewtie  apperten- 
ithe, beinge  now  Your  Gracys  obedient  subject,  wiche  at  this  howar,  I  moost 
hyghlie  enjoye  in,  and  moost  sorrowe  to  me  toremembyre  my  longe  tyme  so 
yll  spent  for  lacke  of  grace  and  knowledge,  contrarye  to  Godes  lawes  and 
Your  Graces.  And  althowghe  before  this,  I  have  wyllinglie  withowt 
coactyon  or  compulsyon  of  anye  creature  but  only  the  advertezement 
of  your  Graces  Deputy  ther  made  lyke  submissyon  to  Your  Graces  Depute 
now  in  Irland,  and  upon  the  same  have  my  pardon  undre  Your  Graces 
Great  Seale  of  Irland,  of  the  said  good  Lorde  Deputie,  yett  my  mind  never 
satysfied,  tyll  I  have  done  the  same  to  Your  Graces  owne  Person,  whom  I 
moost  desire  to  see  above  all  creatures  on  yerthe  lyvinge,  now  yn  myne 
old  days  ;  wiche  sight  I  dowbt  not  but  shall  prolonge  my  lyff.  Moost  humblye 
beseechinge  your  excelent  goodness  of  Your  Graces  pardon  for  me  and  all 
myne  ;  and  yn  case,  as  God  defend  that  all  Irland  shuld  dysobe3^e  from 
their  dewties  and  alledgeance  to  Your  Grace,  yet  shuld  I,  with  all  myne, 
lyve  and  dye  Your  Graces  true  faythfuU  and  obedyent  subjectes  and 
servantes  :  and  for  the  truthe  herof  to  appeare,  I  to  this  poore  rude  and 
symple  submyssion  do  sett  my  hande  and  seale,  and  with  all  my  herte 
protest  to  the  Lord  God,  here  before  Your  Excellencye,  and  to  Your  Grace, 
to  fulfyll  the  same  yn  all  poyntes  for  ever."  Under  capable  leadership 
the  Irish  could  defend  their  liberties  even  against  Henry  VIII.,  but  what 
could  they  do  under  such  leaders  as  O'Brien  and  his  fellows  ? 
*  State  Papers^  Vol.  ill.,  p.  398. 


THE   REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  439 

is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable.  The  excuse  has  been  made 
for  them  that  they  acted  rather  from  ignorance  than  from 
malice,  that  they  had  no  desire  to  play  the  role  of  apostates, 
and  that  in  their  eyes  the  substitution  of  Henry  for  the  Pope 
as  the  head  of  their  Church  only  involved  a  political  change.* 
But  this  assumes  that  they  were  all  men  of  the  densest  ignorance, 
of  the  dullest  understanding,  and  is  not  borne  out  by  the  State 
Papers  of  the  time.f  They  conformed  to  Henry's  religion,  because 
they  feared  to  irritate  a  despotic  and  powerful  monarch,  whose 
enmity  in  their  divided  condition  meant  their  ruin.  But  they 
evidently  had  no  desire  to  fulfil  the  promises  they  made,  and 
although  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  undertook  to  wipe  out  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Pope  in  their  territories,  yet  the  monasteries 
of  Tirowen  and  Tirconnell  were  not  interfered  with,  and  long 
survived  these  chiefs,  as  well  as  Henry  VHI.  And  even  if 
the  leaders  throughout  the  land  were  prepared  to  inaugurate 
a  crusade  against  the  old  faith,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  mass 
of  the  people  were    not  prepared  to  follow  their  lead. 

Protestant  writers  regard  as  the  greatest  mistake  of  the 
reformers  that  they  did  not  address  the  people  in  their  own 
language,  and  to  this  omission  they  attribute  the  failure  of 
the  Reformation  in  Ireland,  at  least  in  its  initial  stages.  And, 
without  doubt,  the  expectation  seemed  unnatural  and  absurd 
that  a  people  would  embrace  doctrines  which  had  not  been 
explained  to  them,  and  which  they  could  not  therefore  under- 
stand. In  one  of  his  letters  to  England,  Browne  declared  that 
he  would  himself  continue  to  preach  in  the  English-speaking 
portion  of  the  country,  and  that  he  would  get  his  friend.  Dr. 
Nangle  of  Clonfert,  who  could  speak  Irish,  to  preach  in  the 
exclusively  Irish-speaking  districts.  |  But  this  project  was  not 
carried  out,  for  as  Browne  had  failed  so  conspicuously  in  the 
district  round  Dublin,  it  was  at  least  equally  probable  that 
Nangle  would  fail  in  the  rest  of  Ireland. 

The  failure  of  Browne  cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise,  if  we 
consider  what  were  the  characters  of  these  first  reformers. 
The   force   of   example   is   strong,   and   personal   character   adds 

*  This  is  Dr.   Joyce's  opinion.     (Short  History  of  Ireland,  pp.  387-8.) 
f  Of  the   1 6th  century  alone  forty  poets  are  enumerated  whose  sur- 
viving pieces  amount  to  over  ten  thousand  lines,  a  fact  which  shows  a 
considerable  amount  of  culture  to  have  existed.      (Douglas  Hyde — Literary 
History  of  Ireland,  p.  471.) 

X  State  Papers,  Vol.  ill.,  p.  123.  Nangle  was  not  able  to  assert  himself 
in  Clonfert,  much  less  do  missionary  work  elsewhere.  When  he  showed 
the  King's  seal  appointing  him  Bishop  of  Clonfert  to  MacWilliam  Burke, 
that  chief  "  threw  it  away  and  vilipended  the  same."  Mant,  Vol.  I.,  p.  204s 
Olden,  pp.  301-5. 


440  HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 

much  to  what  the  preacher  has  to  say.  If  the  fishermen  of 
Galilee  had  been  vain  and  self-seeking,  anxious  for  wealth  and 
ambitious  for  worldly  honors,  they  would  have  done  little. 
They  succeeded  where  Plato  and  Aristotle  would  have  failed, 
because  they  were  humble  and  meek,  despising  honors  and  wealth 
facing  dangers  and  enduring  hardships  with  a  readiness  which 
demonstrated  their  sanctity  and  zeal,  and  performing  miracles 
in  support  of  what  they  preached,  which  demonstrated  that 
their  doctrines  were  true,  and  their  Church  the  Church  of  Christ, 
Judged  by  these  tests,  Browne  and  his  friend,  Staples,  and,  above 
all,  their  master,  Henry  VIII.,  stand  in  no  favourable  contrast. 
In  defiance  of  his  vow  of  chastity  Browne  was  a  married  man, 
in  spite  of  his  vow  of  humility  he  became  so  proud  and  pre- 
sumptuous that  he  was  specially  reprimanded  by  the  King,  and 
he  so  far  forgot  his  vow  of  poverty  that  he  was  not  content  with 
the  ample  revenues  of  the  See  of  Dublin,  but  pleaded  for  his 
share  of  the  suppressed  monasteries,  and  when  the  monastery 
of  Gracedieu,*  near  Dublin,  was  not  given  him  he  considered 
himself  an  ill-used  man.  His  fellow  reformer,  Staples,!  had 
also  broken  his  vow  of  celibacy,  for  he,  too,  was  married.  Nor 
did  these  two  agree,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  bitterest  animosity 
existed  between  them.  From  a  pulpit  in  Dublin,  Staples 
publicly  denounced  Browne,  called  him  a  heretic  and  a  beggar, 
and  adjured  his  hearers  to  give  him  no  credence,  "  for  I  tell  you 
if  you  will  in  faith  I  will  not  "  :  J  and  in  a  letter  to  St.  Leger 
he  gives  his  solemn  assurance  that  every  honest  man  was  weary 
of  Browne,  and  that  pride  and  arrogance  seemed  to  have  deprived 
him  of  his  reason. ||  It  was  admitted  that  the  sermons  of  these 
preachers  were  by  themselves  inefficacious  to  wean  the  people 
from  their  faith,  and  that  these  sermons  should  be  supported 
by  the  Deputy's  sword.  And  here,  too,  Browne  was  dis- 
appointed, for  Gray, though  he  had  taken  the  Oath  of  Supremacy, 
and  had  been  guilty  of  many  acts  of  violence,  was  said  to  be 
insincere,  and  even  had  a  special  zeal  for  the  Papists,  and  when 
at  Trim,  to  the  disgust  of  the  reformers,  he  went  into  the  church 
and  heard  very  devoutly  three  or  four  masses  before  the  statue 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin.**  He  deposed  Tirrey,  the  reforming 
bishop  of  Cork  and  put  a  Grey  Friar  in  his  place  whom 
Browne  calls  a  rank  traitor.ff        His  reluctance  to  spread  the 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.,  p.   lO. 

t  He  was  a  native  of  Lincolnshire  and  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Meath 
in  1530.  He  was  deprived  of  his  See  by  Queen  Mary  in  1554.  (Ware's 
Bishops?) 

\  State  Papers,  Vol.  III.,  pp.   1-2. 

II  Ibid.,  p.  29. 

**  Ihid.,  pp.  96-103. 

tt  Ibid.,  p.    124. 


THE   REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  44 1 

new  doctrines  was  quickened  by  his  personal  antipathy  to  Browne 
whom  he  opposed  and  impeded  in  every  way,  entered  his  house 
at  Dublin  and  took  away  some  of  his  property,  and  when  the 
Archbishop  on  one  occasion  called  Cardinal  Pole  a  Papish 
Cardinal,  Gray  in  a  great  fume  retorted  by  calling  Browne 
a  "poles horn  friar."*  Such  was  the  hatred  between  these  apostles 
of  a  religion  which  was  founded  primarily  upon  love.  It  is 
difficult  to  recognise  in  them  the  heirs  and  successors  of  those 
primitive  Christians  whose  love  for  one  another  excited  the 
admiration  of  the  Pagans. 

If  we  turn  to  Henry  VIII.,  we  shall  not  find,  either  in  his 
personal  character,  or  in  the  doctrines  he  professed,  or  in  the 
manner  in  which  he  sought  to  propagate  them,  anything  which 
would   attract  popular  sympathy   to   the    church   of    which   he 
was   the   founder.     The   very  embodiment  of   tyranny,   like  all 
tyrants  he  had  become  wayward  and  capricious.     No  one  dared 
question    his     authority     or    dispute     his     will.       His     throne 
encompassed    by   slaves   and    sycophants,   every   prejudice   was 
studied,  every  passion  was     flattered,  every  act  was  applauded. 
Those  whom  he  favoured    for  the  moment  became  temporarily 
endowed  with  every  virtue,  as  those  whom  he  hated,  or  even 
suspected,   with  every  vice  and  with   every  crime  ;  and  every 
change  in  his  conduct  or  opinions,  which   interest  or    caprice 
dictated,  was  regarded  as  an   inspiration  from  heaven.     When 
he    married    Anne    Boleyn,    an  obsequious    Parliament    enacted 
it  treason  to  question  the  validity  of  the  marriage  or  the  legiti- 
macy of  the  offspring.      When  she  was  divorced  and  executed, 
the  stigma  of  illegitimacy  was  attached  to  her  child,f   and  when 
the   King  executed  Catherine   Howard,   and  divorced    Anne  of 
Cleves,  the  servile  crowd  of  courtiers  and  apostates  who  surrounded 
his  throne  were  ready  with  their   applause.       Placed  at  the  head 
of  the  church,  he  seemed  to  think  that,  like  the  Pope,  he    was 
infallible,  and  going  farther  than  the  Pope  he  assumed  the  right 
to  change  his  creed  at  will,  and  insisted    that  the  nation  should 
follow  his  example.      At  one  time  he  showed  a  disposition   to 
join  hands  with  the  German  reformers  and  to  accept  the  Confession 
of   Augsburgh  (1530),   which   affirmed   that   justification   came 
from  faith  alone,  rejected  the  veneration  and  invocation  of  saints 
as  well  as   confession,   and   denied   transubstantiation.J     A   few 
years  later,  it  was  woe  to  those  of  Henry's  subjects  who    held 
such  doctrines.     By  the  Six  Articles  (1539),  it  was  decreed  to 
be   heresy  to  deny  transubstantiation,   confession    was  declared 


*  State  Papers^  Vol.  iii.,  p.   209. 

t  Lingard,  Vol.  v.,  p.  36. 

X  Alzog's  Church  Histery^  Vol.  ill.,  p.  235. 

2  G 


442 


HISTORY   OF   IRELAND. 


necessary  for  salvation  ;  the  only  deviation  from  the  ancient 
faith  now  remaining  was  that  Henry  still  claimed  to  be  head  of 
the  church.*  Those  who  denied  that  he  v;as  were  condemned 
to  be  hanged  and  quartered  as  traitors,  those  who  denied  the 
Real  Presence  f  were  condemned  to  be  burned  as  heretics  ;  and 
it  was  not  uncommon  to  see  both  classes  led  on  the  same  hurdles 
to  the  place  of  execution,  l 

To  justify  the  suppression  and  plunder  of  the  English 
monasteries  the  plea  was  put  forth  that  they  were  dens  of  infamy, 
their  occupants,  lazy,  useless,  idle,  ignoranl  and  immoral, ||  but 
in  Ireland  this  plea  was  not  maintained,  and  except  Browne's 
statement  that  they  were  ignorant  and  attached  to  the  Pope,** 
nothing  else  was  laid  to  their  charge.  These  monks  and  nuns 
were  of  the  same  race  as  the  Irish  themselves— their  manners, 
their  language,  their  sympathies  were  the  same.  To  the  shelter 
of  their  monasteries  the  poor  came  for  food  and  clothing  which 
in  these  days  no  state-endowed  institutions  could  supply,  the 
sick  were  attended  and  relieved,  the  traveller  found  hospitality, 
the  weary  found  rest,  the  sorrow-stricken  was  consoled,  the 
sinner  was  welcomed  to  repentance,  and  the  warrior,  weary  of 
battle,  was  solaced  by  prayer  and  religion  in  his  declining  years. 
These  monks  and  friars  preached  the  truths  of  the  faith  to  the 
people,  they  educated  their  children,  and  across  mountain  and 
moor  they  brought  the  consolations  of  religion  to  the  sick  and 
dying,  braving  alike  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  and  the 
terrors  of  some  fatal  disease.  When  their  monasteries  and 

convents  were  violently  invaded,  their  property  confiscated, 
themselves  driven  forth  in  beggary  or,  perhaps,  murdered,  every 
class  of  the  community  felt  aggrieved. 

The  fate  of  the  secular  churches  and  secular  priests  cannot 
have  differed  much  from  that  of  the  monasteries  and  the  monks. 
These  churches  were  robbed  of  everything  they  possessed.  The 
vessels  of  the  altar,  the  shrines  of  saints,  relics,  crosses,  pictures 
and  statues  were  either  taken  away  or  destroyed.  In  most 
cases  the  reformer's  motive  was  cupidity,  but  Browne,  in 
addition,  had  the  fanaticism  of  the  German  Lutherans,  and  in 
reference  to  statues  and  pictures  he  was  animated  with  the 
destructive    spirit    of    the      Iconoclast.     Idols   he    called    them, 

*  Lingard,  Vol.  v.,  p.  64. 

t  This  was  one  of  the  counts  in  the  indictment  against  Cromwell — 
that  he  had  led  people  to  a  disbelief  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  (Gasquct ; 
Henry  VIII.,  p.  154.) 

X  Lingard,  Vol.  v.,  p.  74. 

II  Gasquet   ;  Henry    VIII.    and   the   English    Monasteries,    cap.    VII. 

** State  Papers,  Vol.  II.,  p.  539.  He  blames  especially  the  Franciscan 
Observants  "  which  be  worste  of  all  others."      Vid.  also  Vol.  III.,  p.  7. 


THE   REFORMATION   IN   IRELAND.  443 

and  the  respect  paid  to  them  idolatry.*  With  a  keener 
intelligence  than  the  reformers,  the  Irish  were  able  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  statue  or  painting  and  the  person  it 
represented.  When  a  picture  is  set  in  a  valuable  frame  or  when 
flowers  are  placed  at  the  base  of  the  statue,  it  is  not  to  the 
canvas  or  marble  that  honour  is  given.  And  when  the  people 
beheld  a  representation  of  a  saint — of  St.  Patrick  or  St.  Columba, 
or  St.  Bridget,  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  of  the  Infant  Saviour 
resting  on  his  bed  of  straw  or  nestling  in  the  arms  of  His  Mother, 
they  thought  of  the  saint's  zeal,  of  the  Virgin's  sanctity,  of  the 
Saviour's  love.  The  recollection  was  inspiring.  They  prayed 
not  to  the  statue  before  them  or  to  the  picture  which  hung  upon 
the  walls,  but  to  him  whom  it  represented,  and  as  they  prayed 
they  felt  their  faith  grow  vivid,  their  devotion  increase  and 
their  charity  w^as  enkindled  anew.  The  reformers  confined 
their  efYorts  to  preaching,  but  in  religion  it  is  necessary  to  reach 
men's  hearts  as  well  as  their  understanding  :  and  the  invocation 
of  saints,  the  honours  oaid  to  their  relics  or  their  shrines,  the 
ceremonies  and  rites — which  the  reformers  considered  unnecessary 
— these  will  toucli  the  heart  and  move  the  will,  when  preaching 
by  itself  may  fail. 

A  religion  which  was  avowedly  novel,  and  above  all  whose 
high-priest  was  an  English  king,  was  certain  to  be  regarded  b}- 
the  Irish  with  suspicion  and  ill-favour,  but  when  it  furthermore 
involved  the  destruction  of  churches,  the  suppression  of 
monasteries  and  the  murder  of  priests  and  monks  and  nuns, 
it  was  equally  certain  they  would  regard  it  with  aversion  and 
hate.  There  must  have  been  many  in  Ireland,  who  wished  well 
to  England,  and  who  hoped  that  Henry's  attack  on  the  Church 
was  but  a  passing  storm  which,  at  least  with  his  death,  would 
subside.  They  knew  that  the  people  would  not  embrace  the 
new  doctrines  nor  abandon  the  old  without  a  struggle,  and  if 
the  efforts  to  change  them  were  continued,  then,  for  the  first 
time,  both  Anglo-Irish  and  Irish  would  unite,  and  trouble  and 
bloodshed  and  misery  both  for  England  and  Ireland  would 
ensue. 

*  State  Papers,  Vol.  ui.,  p-  35. 


INDEX  TO  VOL-  1, 


INDEX 


Abbey knockmoy,  231,  272. 

Abbots  of  the  Sixth  Century,  46. 

Adam  Duff,  executed  for  heresy 
424. 

Adamnan,  St.,  his  account  of  the 
battle  of  Cuildrevne,  50  ;  his  hfe 
and  labours,  57,  82  ;  favours  the 
Boru  tribute,  74 ;  his  shrine 
carried  away  by  the  Danes,  88. 

Adamnan's  Law,  58,  84. 

Adrian  IV.,   192,   198. 

Adrian's  Bull,question  of  its  authen- 
ticity, 193-9  :  published  at  Water- 
ford,  207  ;  and  at  Dublin,  224. 

Aedh  Mac  Ainmire,  Ardri,  -jy. 

Aedh  of  Tirowen  and  Malachy  II., 
no. 

Aedh  Ornaighe,  devastates  Leinster, 

174. 
Aenachs,  22. 
Aengus,    the    Culdee,    educated   at 

Tallaght,     59  ;      his     piety    and 

mortifications,  61. 
Aengus,  King  of  Cashel,  converted 

by  St.  Patrick,  40. 
Agard,  laments  the  failure  of  the 

Reformation  in  Ireland,  435. 
Agricola,  his  description  of  Ireland, 

3  ;  proposes  its  Conquest,  9. 
Aidan  of  Lindisfarne,  63. 

,  King  of  the  Dalriadians,  78. 

Ailech,  palace  of,   128. 

Aires,  position  of,  25. 

Alcuin,  probably  educated  at  Clon- 

macnoise,   56. 
Aldfrid,     King     of     Northumbria, 

educated  at  Lismore,  59. 
Alexander  III.,  Letter  of,  held  to  be 

a    forgery,     199  ;     pubUshed    at 

Waterford,  207. 
Allen,  Archbishop  of  DubUn,  Lord 

Chancellor,    383  ;    murdered    by 

Silken  Thomas,  388-9. 


Allen,  Master  of  the  RoUs,  384,  431. 

Altmunster,  71. 

Amator,  consecrated  St.  Patrick,  2)^. 

Amrud,  Danish  Chief,   118. 

Anastasius,  Papal  librarian,  145. 

Ancient  Irish  Church,  its  doctrines, 
67-8. 

Annadown,  diocese  of,  426. 

Annals  of  Clonmacnoise,  describes 
the  Fomorians,  6  ;  its  account  of 
Danish  oppression,  91  ;  on  the 
wars  between  the  Enghsh  settlers, 
260  ;    condemns  Edward  Bruce, 

293- 
Annals  of  Tighernach,  426. 

Ulster,  426. 

Anselm,  St.,  on  the  abuses  in  the 

Irish  Church,   148. 
Ardagh  Chalice,   164. 
Ardri,  position  of,   19,  21. 
Armagh,  St.  Patrick  builds  church 
of,  41;    school  of,  45  ;  plundered 
by  Danes,  88,  91,  140  ;  by  Irish, 
147  ;  by  Philip  of  Worcester,  213, 
272;    given    the    Primacy,    154; 
number    of    Saxon    students    at, 
139  ;     lay   abbots    of,    142,    149, 
NationaUty  of  its  Primates,  268. 
Arms    and    Armour    used    in    the 
fourteenth  century,  288  ;  in  the 
fifteenth,   358  ;  at  the  battle  of 
Knockdoe,     368  ;     armour     pro- 
hibited by  Statute  of  Kilkenny, 
314. 
Arran  Islands,  46. 
AssembUes  in  Ancient  Ireland,  22. 
Athboy,  assembly  of,  137. 
Athenry,     captured     by     Earl     of 

Kildare,  368. 
Attacotti,   17,  28. 
Augsburg,  Confession  of,  441. 
Augustine,  St.,  Canons  Regular  of, 
274. 


448 


INDEX. 


B 


Bacal  Jesu,   150,  433 

Bacon,  Lord,  357-8. 

Bagwell,  list  of  Bishops  who  took 

the  Oath  of  Supremacy,  432. 
BalUgorry,  Conference  at,  328. 
Ballyshannon,  captured  by  O'Neill, 

Z77' 
Bangor,  church  and  school  of,  58, 

88,   140,   150. 
Bannow,     Anglo-Normans     landed 

at,  180. 
Bardic  Schools,  54,  79. 
Bards,  position  and  duties  of,  24, 

55,    80  ;    their    insolence,    78-9  ; 

encouraged  war,  146  ;  proscribed 

by  Statute  of  Kilkenny,  314. 
Battles — 

Allen,  84,   174. 

Ardee,   125. 

Athenry,  287-8. 

Ballaghmoon,  95. 

Ballyshannon  (Donegal),  251. 

—  Kildare,  84. 

Bealach  Leachta,   107. 

Bellahoe,  412. 

Callan  (Kilkenny),  334. 

Cashel,  208. 

Clontarf,   1 16-19. 

Connor,  285. 

"  Of  the  Connors,"  225. 

Crabh  Tulcha,   in. 

Cuildrevne,  50,  770 

Downpatrick,  217,  255. 

Drumcliff,  252. 

Dunbolg,  80. 

Dunceithern,  81. 

Dysert  O'Dea,  299. 

Faughart,  291. 

Gavra,   17. 

Glenmama,   109. 

Kells  (Kilkenny),   330. 

(Meath),  286. 

Kilmainham,  335. 

Kilmashoge,  97. 

Kilmore,  98. 

Knockdoe,  368. 

Knockvoe,  377-8. 

Letterluin,   136. 

Moanmore,   134. 

Monabrahir,  371. 
Mourne  Abbey,  735. 


Moylena,   102. 
Moyrath,  8t. 
Moytura,  7. 
Piltown,  347. 
Stoke,  358. 
Sulcoit,    105. 
Teltown,   12. 
Thurles,  205. 

Bede,  on  the  hospitality  of  the 
Irish  monastic  schools,  54  ;  char- 
acter of  Adamnan,  58  ;  of  Aidan 
of  Lindisfarne,  63  ;  condemns  the 
Northumbrian  invasion  of  Ire- 
land, 82  ;  describes  the  Irish 
church    buildings,   165-6. 

Belfast,  captured  by  the  Earl  of 
Kildare,  371. 

Belgae  and  the  Firbolgs,  9. 

Bellacong,  lake  and  river,  244. 

Bells,  Ancient  Irish,   163. 

Beltaine,  feast  of,  42. 

Benedictines,  273. 

Benignus,  St.,  38-9. 

Bernard,  St.,  149,  151,  153,  274-6. 

Birmingham,  "  the  treacherous 
Baron,"  259. 

Lord  of  Athenry,  287-8. 

Earl  of  Louth,  291,  294. 

Birminghams,  302-3,  322. 

Bishops,  position  of,  45  ;  appoint- 
ment of,  266-9,  423. 

Bissets,  the  283. 

"  Black  Monday,"  235. 

"  Black  Rents,"  308,  325,  341, 
349,  354,  399,  402,  407-8. 

Bhnding,  punishment  of,  129. 

Bobbio,  monastery  of,  65. 

Bodkin,  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  432. 

Boleyn,  Anne,  381,  408,  428-9. 

Boleyn,  Sir  Thomas,  381. 

Bonaght,  28. 

Boniface,  St.,  66. 

Book  of  Armagh,   1 1 1 . 

Durrow,   57,   163. 

Howth,  216,  222,  364,  368. 

Kells,  57,   160. 

Leccain,  426. 

Leinster,  74,   148. 

Rights,  26. 

Boru  tribute,  its  amount,  15  ; 
cause  of  strife,  74,  80,  174 ; 
abolished  by  Finachta,  84  ;  re- 
imposed  by  Brian,   112. 


1 


INDEX. 


449 


Brabazon,  Sir  William,  430-1. 
Branduff,  King  of  Leinster,  80. 
Brehon     Laws,     revised      by     St. 

Patrick,  42. 
Brehons,   positions   and   duties   of, 

22,  23, 
Brendan  of  Birr,  St.,  47. 
Brendan  of  Clonfert,  St.,  47-8. 
Brereton,  Sir  William,  390,  414-15. 
Brian  Boru,  early  life,  102-3;  wars 

and  government,  104-19;  defeated 

by     Malachy,     99 ;     encourages 

learning,   145-6. 
Brian  Boru's  harp,   112. 
Bridget,  St.,  life  and  labours,  48-9  ; 

consults  her  guardian  angel  about 

Ireland,  400  ;  her  relics  scattered, 

433- 
Britons,  43,  62-3. 
Brodir  of  Man,  115-16,  118. 
Brotherhood  of  St.  George,  349. 
Broughton,  Sir  Thomas,  357. 
Browne,     Archbishop     of     Dublin, 

accuses  Lord  Leonard  Gray,  414  ; 

approves     of     Henry's     divorce, 

429 ;     his     career     in     Ireland, 

430-42. 
Bruce,  Edward,  283-91,  292. 

Robert,  279,  283,  289-91. 

Brude,  King  of  the  Picts,  52. 
Brughaid,  office  of,  25. 
Brunehault  and  St.  Columbanus,  64. 
Buchanan,   14. 

Buildings,  Ancient  Irish,  30,  165. 
Burgundy,  Duchess  of,  357,  363. 
Burkes,    See  De  Burgho. 
Butler,     Edmond,     Archbishop    of 

Cashel,  432. 

Lord  James,  383,  389-90,  392-3 

Sir  James,  361. 

Sir  John,  347. 

Sir  Piers,  361,  364,  372-3. 

Butlers,  259,  347. 


Caesar,   his  knowledge  of  Ireland, 

2  ;  on  Druidism,  21. 
Caicer,  the  Druid,   12. 
Cambrensis  E versus,   157. 
Camden,  3,  4,   13. 
Campion,  387. 
Canons,  Premonstre,  z-j-^. 


Canons  of  St.  Victor,  273. 

Carew,  312. 

Carlo w,  312. 

Carnfree,  mound  of,  243. 

Carrickfergus,  283,  288. 

Carrigogunnell,  Castle  of,  409. 

Carrol,  King  of  Dublin,  96. 

Carthage,  St.,   59,  61. 

Carthaginians,  2. 

Carthusians,  429. 

Cashel,   102,  104,   129,  154. 

Cassiterides,  or  Tin  Islands,  1,2. 

Cataldus,  St.,  66. 

Cathach,  or  Battle-book,  jj. 

Catherine  of  Arragon,  428. 

Ceiles,  25. 

Celestine,  St.,  and  St.  Patrick,  36 

Celestius,  67. 

Celsus,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  149. 

Cennfaeledh,  56. 

Charles  the  Bald  and  Scotus 
Erigena,  145. 

Charters  of  Denization,   300. 

"  Chronicon  Scotorum,"   148. 

Churches,  construction  of,   166. 

Cian  of  Desmond,   121. 

Cimbeath,   15 

Cistercians,  Order  of,  1 54,  274-7. 

Clairvaux,  274-5. 

Clan  system,  its  constitution,  20-2 1  ; 
its  defects,  26-7,  280  ;  abolition 
of,  417-18  ;  number  of  warring 
clans,  405. 

Clarence,  Duke  of,  311-13. 

Claudian,  on  the  wars  b-^tween  the 
Ancient  Irish  and  the  llomans,  18 . 

Clemens  and  Albinus,  72. 

Clergy  in  battle,   174. 

Clonard,  School  of,  47. 

Clonfert,  school  and  monastery  of, 
48,  60,  230. 

Clonmacnoise,  school  and  monas- 
tery of,  foundation  and  pre- 
eminence of,  56,  75,  139  ;  plun- 
dered by  Fedlimy,  King  of 
Cashel,  90 ;  by  other  native 
chiefs,  142,  147  ;  by  De  Burgho, 
230  ;  its  miserable  condition  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  426. 

Clonmel,  Archbishop  Browne 
preaches  at,  and  converts  two 
archbishops  and  eight  bishops, 
431-2. 


45° 


INDEX. 


Clooneenagh,  School  of,  59. 

Clynn  (Annalist),  condemns 
Edward  Bruce,  292  ;  describes 
the  pestilence  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  308-9. 

Coarbs,  their  position  in  the 
Church,   149-50. 

Colgu  of  Clonmacnoise,  56. 

Colman,  St.,  of  Lindisfarne  and 
Mayo,  60,  71. 

Columba,  St.,  his  early  life  and 
missionary  labours,  49-54;  cursed 
Tara,  76  ;  causes  the  battle  of 
Cuildrevne,  jj  ;  at  the  Conven- 
tion of  Drumcat,  78  ;  pleads  for 
the  Bards,  79-80 ;  supposed  to 
have  written  the  Book  of  Kells, 
160 ;  his  prophecies  used  by 
De  Courcy,  217  ;  his  remains 
desecrated,  433. 

Columbanus,  St.,  63-7. 

Comgal,  St.,   58. 

Comyn,  John,  Archbishop  of 
Dublin,  266-7. 

"  Confession  "  of  St.  Patrick,  42. 

Cong  Abbey,  136,  226,  228. 

Cong,  Cross  of,   164. 

Congal,  81. 

Congalach  (Ardri),  98. 

Conleth,  St.,  47,  49. 

Conmaicne,  tribe  of,   131. 

Conn  of  the  Hundred  Battles,  15,101. 

Connaught,  King  of,  his  revenue,  26. 

Province      of,      assigned      to 

Roderick  O'Connor,  223  ;  dis- 
turbed state  of,  226-31,  242-50, 
255-6,  294-9,  320-3,  351  ;  pays 
tribute  to  O'Donnell  of  Tirconnell, 
382,  420  ;  independent  of  Eng- 
land, 402. 

Corcran,   123. 

Cork,  city  of,  226,  363,  399. 

Cormac  Cas,   102. 

Cormac's  Chapel,   168. 

Cormac  Mac  Art,  15,  16,  30. 

Mac  Cuilenan,  95,   143. 

Coshery,  28,  262. 

Counties  formed,  237, 

Cowley,  describes  the  progress  of 
the  Reformation,  435. 

Cox,  on  Art  MacMurrogh,  328  ;  list 
of  Black  Rents  paid,  354 ;  on 
the  capture  of  Maynooth,  391. 


Coyne.  Bishop  of  Limerick,  432, 
Coyne  and  Livery,   304,   344,   349, 

n6,  399,  401-2. 
Cranmer,  Archbishop,  428. 
Cranogues,  or  Lake-dwellings,  3c. 
Creaghts,  314. 
Cristede,  329. 
Croagh  Patrick,  40. 
Crom  Cruach,  21,  39. 
Cromer,    Archbishop    of    Armagh, 

appointed  Lord  Chancellor,  383  ; 

remonstrates  with  Silken  Thomas, 

387  ;  opposes  the  King's  spiritual 

supremacy,  430-1. 
Cromwell,  Thomas,     410-11.,     428, 

430- 
Crook,  near  Waterford,  John  landed 

at,  233. 
Croziers,   163. 

Cruciferii  or  Crutched  Friars,  273. 
CuchuUan,   55-6. 
Cuirmtig,  assembly  of,  22. 
Culdees,  60. 

Cumdachs  or  shrines,   165. 
Cummian  of  Bobbio,  71. 

of  Clonfert,  60,  70, 

Cyclopean  Buildings,   165. 


D 

Dagda,  29. 

Dal,  Assembly  of,  22. 

Dalcassians,    101-19,    122. 

Dalian  Forgal,  56. 

Dalriadia,  75. 

Dalriadians,   51,  278. 

Danes  or  Northmen,  their  character, 
85-6  ;  their  depredations,  87-8, 
139-40;  their  successes,  88-90; 
their  oppressive  rule,  91  ;  quarrel 
among  themselves,  92  ;  found 
Dubhn,  93  ;  settle  in  Normandy, 
94;  their  government  at  Limerick, 
97  ;  defeated  by  Malachy,  who 
captures  Dublin,  98-9  ;  their  wars 
with  Mahon,  King  of  Munster, 
104-6;  and  with  Brian  Boru,  107-9; 
become  Christians,  130  ;  engaged 
in  commerce,  147  ;  their  connec- 
tion with  the  Round  Towers, 
17 1 -2  ;  driven  from  Dublin,  191  ; 
granted  Waterford  by  Henry  II., 
202. 


INDEX, 


451 


Dannaans,  or  Tuatlia-de-Dannaans, 

7-9,   12. 
D'Arcy  of  Flatten,  357. 
D'Arcy,  Sir  John,  300,  303,  305. 
D'Artois,  Jenico,  331,  335. 
Dathi,  38. 

Davies,  Sir  John,  307,  312. 
Davis,     Thomas,     on     the     Round 

Towers,   172. 
De  Braose,  236. 
De  Burgho,  or  Burke, 
Earl  of  Clanrickard,  367,  371, 

417,  420. 
Lord    Deputy   of   Connaught, 


324- 


Edmond,  297-8. 
Richard,  Lord  of  Connaught, 

231,  243,  245-9,  253. 
Earl  of  Ulster  (the  Red  Earl), 

256,  258-60,  284-5,  289,  293. 

Waiter,  250,  255-6. 

Walter  (died,  1332),  296. 

William,  295-6. 

William  Fitzadelm,  200,  212, 

229-30. 

William,   Earl  of  Ulster   (the 


Brown  Earl),  296. 
De   Burghos,    257-60,    296-7,    299, 

302-3. 

De  Clare,  257,  260,  299. 

De  Cogan,  Milo  at  the  capture  of 
Dublin,  187  ;  governor  of  the 
city,  190  ;  defeats  the  Danes,  191  ; 
governor  of  Limerick,  206  ;  in- 
vades Connaught,  224-5. 

De  Courcy,  John,  described  by 
Giraldus,  216  ;  invades  Ulster, 
217-18  ;  appointed  Viceroy,  219; 
invades  Connaught,  226,  229  ; 
plunders  Churches,  271  ;  his 
death,  222. 

De  Geneville,  258,  302. 

De  Grey,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  241. 

De  Lacy,  Hugh,  the  elder,  200, 
202-4,  210-13,  215. 

Hugh,  the  younger,  221-2,  229, 

231,  235-6,  253. 

De  Lacys,  242,  286,  291. 

De  Londres,  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
269-71. 

De  Marisco,   235,   243,   246,   253. 

De  Prendergast,  Maurice,  181,  184, 
190. 


De  Windsor  (Viceroy),  326. 

"  Degenerate  English,"  400. 

Deisi,  paid  tribute  to  Brian  Boru, 
107. 

Delbna,  tribe  of,   105. 

Delvin,  Lord,  381. 

Derbfine,  20. 

Derry,  monastery  and  ciiurch  of, 
50,   147. 

Dervorgilla,   176. 

Desmond,  Earls  of,  301-6,  309,  319, 
324,  334,  341-2,  344,  346-8,  352, 
356,  363-4,  370-1,  375-6,  379-80, 
392-3,  402-4,  408-9,  416,  437- 

Desmond,  province  of,  assigned  to 
Eoghan,  son  of  Oliol  Olum,  102  ; 
given  to  MacCarthy,  132  ;  part 
of  given  to  Robert  FitzStephen, 
226  ;  its  wars,  123,  134,  250,  255, 
257. 

Diarmid  (Ardri),  quarrels  with  the 
clergy,  75-7. 

Dichu  and  St.  Patrick,  38. 

Dicuil,  the  geographer,  56,  62,  14. 

Diocesan  Episcopacy,   154. 

Diodorus  Siculus  and  Ancient 
Ireland,  3. 

Dionysius,  the  Areopagite,  his 
works  translated  by  Scotus 
Erigena,   145. 

Discord  among  the  native  chiefs, 
its  causes,  74,  280,  404,  418. 

Donal  (Ardri),  80. 

Great  Steward  of  Mar,  1 15-16. 

Donation  of  Constantine,   195-6. 

Donatus,   143. 

Donnybrook  Fair,  234. 

Donovan  of  Hy  Fighdhente,  104, 
106. 

Dress,  Irish,  in  Pagan  times,  30  ; 
declared  illegal  by  Statute,  314, 
349  ;  worn  by  English  settlers, 
401. 

Drogheda,  ParUaments  at,  347,  362. 

Druids  and  Druidism,  21-22,  39. 

Drumcat,    Convention  of,  TJ. 

Dubhthach,  39,  48. 

Dublin,  founded  by  Danes,  93  ; 
taken  possession  of  by  Carroll, 
King  of  Ossory,  96  ;  Danes 
expelled  from,  97  ;  captured  by 
Malachy,  99  ;  by  ISrian  Boru,  109; 
extent  of  in  the  eleventh  century. 


452 


INDEX. 


1 16  ;  Turlogh  O'Connor's  appoints 
his  son  King  of,  133  ;  Danish 
bishop  of,  147  ;  taken  by  Strong- 
bow,  187  ;  Danes  driven  from, 
191  ;  Henry  II.  spends  the 
winter  in,  201-2  ;  its  privileges 
and  wealth  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  234-5  ;  besieged  by 
Bruce,  289  ;  Richard  II.  at,  328  ; 
captured  by  Silken  Thomas,  388; 
failure    of    the    Reformation    in, 

433-  y:''.J^ 

Dumbarton,  33.  ■■  • 

Dunamaise,  castle  of,  300.  f^''"' 
Dundalk,   Edward   Bruce   crowned 

at,  286  ;  pays  tribute  to  O'Neill, 

324,  340. 
Dundonald,   185. 
Dun-Engus,  fort  of,  7,  165. 
Dungal,   59,   139,   143- 
Dunleavy  of  Uladh,  136. 
Durrow,  monastery  of,  50,  59,  216. 
Duvgalls  and  Fingall's,  87,  92,  95. 
Duvgall's  Bridge,   118. 


Easter,  mode  of  computing,  69,  1 39, 
152. 

Edgecombe,  Sir  R.,  358-60. 

Edward  I.,  281. 

II.,  284,  301. 

III.    desires   the   extension   of 

English  law  to  Irish  natives,  300  ; 
determines  to  go  to  Ireland,  303  ; 
censures  Irish  officials,  304  ; 
dismisses  from  of&ce  all  Irish-born, 
305  ;  aided  by  Anglo-Irish  in  his 
French  wars,  306-7. 

Edward  IV.  and  the  Earl  of  Des- 
mond, 347-8. 

Egfrid  of  Northumbria,  invades 
Ireland,  82. 

Egypt  and  Ireland,  7. 

Emania,  palace  of,   15. 

Enda,  St.,  of  Arran,  46-7. 

English  Law  in  Ireland,  intro- 
duced by  Henry  II.,  237  ;  natives 
ask  for,  280-1,  300;  opposed  by 
Anglo-Irish  lords,  301. 

Eochy  (Ardri),   15. 

of  Uladh,   III. 


Eoghan  More,   loi. 
Eoghanachts,   102. 
Eric  (a  fine),  23,  262. 
Erigena,  John  Scotus,  144. 
Esker  Riada,   loi. 


Fanchea,  St.,  46,  49. 
Fasting  to  recover  debt,  24. 
Fedlimy,  King  of  Cashel,  plunders 

Clonmacnoise,  90. 
Fenians.   16,   17. 
Ferguson,  Lady,  describes  battle  of 

Clontarf,   117. 
Ferns,  castle  of,  407. 
Festus   Avienus,   calls   Ireland   the 

Sacred  Isle,  2,  3. 
Fiac  of  Sletty,  33,  40. 
Fiacre,  St.,  66. 
Fifth  Lateran  Council,  427. 
Finachta     (Ardri),     abolishes     the 

Boru  tribute,  84. 
Fin  MacCool,   16. 
Fine,  Organization  of,   19,  20. 
Fingal,  extent  of,  388 
Finglas,  Patrick,  describes  Ireland 

in   1534,  401-2. 
Finian,  St.,  of  Clonard,  47. 
of  Moville,  his  quarrel  with  St. 

Columba,  27' 
Firbolgs,  7-9. 
Fitzgerald,  Gerald,  394-7. 

Sir  James,   381. 

Fitzgerald,     Maurice,      arrives     in 

Ireland,  185  ;  with  Strongbow  at 

Dublin,   189  ;  assists  de  Lacy  in 

the  government  of  Dublin,  202. 
Maurice    (Viceroy),    interferes 

in  the  wars  of  Connaught,  247-54  ; 

defeated     by     the     MacCarthys, 

257  ;    at    war   with   the    Earl    of 

Ulster  (the  Red  Earl),  259-60. 
Thomas,  aids  Lambert  Simnel, 

357-8. 

Thomas       (Silken      Thomas), 

appointed  Lord  Deputy,  385-6  ; 
in  rebellion,  387  ;  murders  Arch- 
bishop Allen,  388-9  ;  fails  to  save 
Maynooth,  391  ;  his  submission 
to  Lord  Gray,  392-3;  his  sufferings 
and  death  in  the  Tower,  394  ; 
cost  of  his  rebellion,  403. 


INDEX, 


453 


Fitz-Henry,  Meyler,  206,  211,  221, 

235- 

Fitz-Ralph,  Archbishop  of  Armagh, 
called  St.  Richard  by  the  Refor- 
mers, 425. 

Fitzsimraons,  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
361. 

Fitz-Stephen,  Robert,  imprisoned 
in  Wales,  179  ;  arrived  in  Ireland, 

181  ;   gets   a   grant  of   Wexford, 

182  ;  negotiates  with  Roderick 
O'Connor,  185  ;  besieged  in  Wex- 
ford, 190  ;  imprisoned  by  Henry 
II.,  201  ;  murdered  near  Cork, 
226. 

Five  Bloods,  the,  210. 
Flaherty  of  Scattery  Island,  95. 
Flaiths,  20. 
Flann  (poet),   148. 

Sinna  (Ardri),  93. 

Fleming,  Richard,  211. 
Florence  of  Worcester,   143. 
Florus  and  Prudentius  and  Scotus 

Erigena,   145. 
Fomorians,  6,  8. 
Fosterage,  24. 
Four  Masters,  quoted^  99,  129,  133, 

148,  163,  215,  230,  351,  366,  420, 

433- 
Fridolin,  St.,  66. 
Fursey,  St.,  66. 
Fulda,  monastery  of,  147. 

G 

Galgacus  and  the  Picts,  51. 

Gall,  St.,  66 

Gallowglasses,  28. 

Galway  city,  taken  from  the 
O'Flahertys  by  De  Burgho,  247  ; 
captured  by  the  Earl  of  Kildare, 
368  ;     Lord    Leonard    Gray    at, 

413.  433- 
Gasquet,  quoted,  394,  406  429. 
GeLfine,  20. 

Geraldine  League,  395. 
Geraldines,     see     Fitzgerald,     also 

Earls  of  Desmond  and  Kildare. 
Germanus,  St.,  35. 
Gibbon,  quoted,  10,  17,  18,  3S>  ^^o. 
Gildas,  the  historian,  45,  51. 
Gillapatrick  of  Ossory,  imprisoned 
^'tby  Brian  Boru,  107. 


Gillebert,  Bishop  of  Limerick,  on 
the  irregularities  in  the  Irish 
Church,   149. 

Ginnell,  Air.  L.,  on  Adrian's  Bull, 
194. 

Giraldus  Cambrensis,  describes  the 
Fomorians»6;  on  the  Book  of  Kells, 
57  ;  came  to  Ireland  with  King 
John,  156,  214  ;  his  abuse  of  the 
Irish,  157  ;  testimony  in  favour 
of  Adrian's  Bull,  195  ;  character 
of  Dermot  MacMurrogh,  176,  183  ; 
character  of  Henry  II.,  198  ;  of 
Strongbow,  208  ;  of  the  first 
Anglo-Norman  invaders,  209,  272; 
of  Fitzadelm  de  Burgho,  212  ;  of 
John  de  Courcy,  216  ;  otherwise 
mentioned,  200,  204,  225. 

Glendalough,  School  of,  59,  61,  147, 
267. 

Gloucester,  Earl  of,  332. 

Godred  of  Man,   188,  219. 

GoU,  Firbolg  chief,   102. 

Gormfleth,  109,  11 3-1 5,  152. 

Gospel  of  St.  Finbar,  106. 

Gosselin,  quoted,   196. 

Gossipred,  313. 

Goths,  85. 

Gottschalk,  his  doctrines  on  pre- 
destination, attacked  by  Scotus 
Erigena,   144. 

Grace's  Annals,  quoted,  292. 

Gray,  Lord  Leonard,  Viceroy,  392-6, 
403-14,433,440-1. 

GreUin,  St.,   163. 

Grey,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  350. 

Guiscard,  defended  the  Pope,   180. 


H 


Halfdane,  Danish  chief,  killed  at 
Dubhn,  96. 

HalHday,  on  the  position  of  Gorm- 
fleth,  113. 

Hanmer,  quoted,  149,  222.     .    • 

Hardiman,  quoted,  315. 

Harold  Harfagher,  King  of  Norway, 

93- 
Harris's  "  Hibernica,"  331. 
Healy,  Dr.,  quoted,  22,  51,  59,  64, 

145. 
Heber  and  Heremon,   12. 


454 


INDEX. 


Henry  II.,  his  interview  with 
Dermot  MacMurrogh,  178  ;  his 
jealousy  of  Strongbow,  188-190; 
of  Raymond  le  Gros,  207-8  ;  of 
Hugh  de  Lacy,  215  ;  of  St. 
Laurence  O 'Toole,  264  ;  obtains 
Bull  from  Adrian  IV.,  193  ;  and 
Letter  from  Alexander  III.,  195  ; 
arrival  and  success  in  Ireland, 
199-203  ;  treaty  with  Roderick 
O'Connor,  207  ;  names  John, 
Lord  of  Ireland,  213  ;  his  rebel- 
lious sons,  232  ;  convokes  Irish 
Parliament,  238  ;  his  character, 
198  ;  his  death,  219. 

Henry  III.  grants  Connaught  to 
Richard  de  Burgho,  243  ;  con- 
demns De  Burgho,  249  ;  dis- 
pleased with  de  Londres,  Arch- 
bishop of  Dublin,  271  ;  wishes  to 
extend  English  law  to  the  native 
Irish,   280. 

Henry  IV.  appoints  his  son  Viceroy, 

333- 

Henry  V.  asked  by  English  Settlers 
to  place  their  condition  before 
the  Pope,  340. 

Henry  VI,  makes  peace  between 
Irish  officials,   339. 

Henry  VII.  dishked  by  Anglo-Irish, 
356-63  ;  appoints  Earl  of  Kildare 
to  "  rule  all  Ireland,"  364. 

Henry  VIII.,  his  character,  370, 
441-2  ;  summons  Earl  of  Kildare 
to  England,  384  ;  commends  the 
loyalty  of  Dublin,  389  ;  enraged 
with  the  Geraldines,  393-4  ;  dis- 
pleased with  Lord  Leonard  Gray, 
410  ;  his  knowledge  of  Ireland. 
402-3  ;  his  policy,  404,  416,  419  ; 
"  Defender  of  the  Faith,"  428  ; 
his  spiritual  supremacy,  43 1 ,  439  ; 
despoils  the  monasteries  and 
churches,  433-4. 

Herenachs,  their  position  in  the 
Church,   1 50. 

Herodotus,  quoted,   i,  2. 

High  Crosses,   169. 

Hoblers,  316. 

Honoratus,  St.,  and  St.  Patrick,  36. 

Honorius  I.  and  the  Pascal  Dispute, 
70. 

Hotham,  Lord  John,  282,  290. 


Hugony,  the  Great,   T5, 
Hume,  on  the  name  Scotia,  18. 
Huss,  John,  423. 
Hy  Nials,   126. 


Idols,  42,  433,  442-3. 

Idrone,  seized  by  Art  Mac  Murrogh, 
326. 

Illumination  of  MSS.,  158. 

Images,  treatment  of  by  the 
Reformers,  433,  442-3. 

Innisbof&n,  Island  of,  71. 

Inniscaltra,  church  of,   146. 

Innisfail,  origin  of  the  name,  4. 

Innishowen,  258. 

lona.  Island  and  monastery  of, 
51-4;  missionary  labours  of  its 
monks,  61-3  ;  monastery  des- 
troyed by  the  Danes,  87. 

Irish  enemies,  313. 

Ivar  of  Limerick,  104. 


Jerome,  St.,  on  the  Ancient  Irish, 
28. 

Jerome  of  Prague,  423. 

Jocelin,  33,  272. 

John,  King  of  England,  appointed 
Lord  of  Ireland,  213  ;  first  visit 
to  Ireland,  214  ;  rebelled  against 
his  father,  232  ;  second  visit  to 
Ireland,  2^3-40  ; 

John  XXIL",  Pope,  282. 

John  of  Salisbury  and  Adrian  IV., 
192. 

Josephus,   II. 

Joyce,  Dr.,  quoted,  439 

Justin,  on  the  Scythians,   11. 

K 

Kavanagh,  Doual,  325. 

Kavanaghs,  410,  416. 

Keating,  quoted,  5,  6,  12,  13,  91, 
92. 

Kells,  monastery  of,  57,  147. 

Kelly,  Dr.  and  Adrian's  BuU,  199. 

Kerns,  28,  316. 

Kettler,  Alice,  executed  for  witch- 
craft, 424. 

Kevin,  St..  59,  61. 


INDEX. 


455 


Kieran,  St.,  56,  75. 

Kildare,  church  and  school  of,  49. 

Kildare,  Earls  of,  301,  306,  309.  330, 

334,  346,  50,  356-73,  375-86 
Kilian,  St.,  66. 
Kilkenny,  city  of,  Richard  II.  at, 

327-331  ;  held  by  Ormond  against 

Art  MacMurrogh,   334  ;  progress 

of  the  Reformation  at,  435. 

Statute  of,  310-17. 

Killaloe,  church  of,  142,  146,  168. 

castle  of,  250. 

Kincora,    palace  of,  112,   124,  127, 

132. 
Kinsale,    favoured    the    pretender 

Simnel,   358. 
Knighthood,  Order  of,  in  England, 

181. 

L 

Laeghaire  (Ardri),  38-9. 

Lancaster,  Duke  of,  334. 

Lanfranc,  on  the  Irish  Church,  148, 

Lanigan,  quoted,  49,  50,  71,  145. 
149,   151. 

Lay  Abbots,  142,  149. 

Leap  Castle,  371-2. 

Ledwich,  quoted,  32,  67,  140,  152. 

Leinster,  province  of,  its  troubles 
from  the  Boru  tribute,  15,  80,  84, 
174  ;  subject  to  Brian  Boru,  107  ; 
conquered  by  Roderick  O'Connor, 
177  ;  possessed  by  Strongbow, 
188  ;  ruled  by  Art  MacMurrogh, 
335  ;  entirely  subject  to  England, 
411. 

Leth  Cuin  and  Leth  Mogh,  10 1,  108. 

Leverus,  Bishop  of  Kildare,  394-6. 

Lia  Fail,  or  Stone  of  Destiny,  4. 

Limerick,  city  of,  Danes  established 
at,  88,  97  ;  captured  by  Mahon 
of  Thomond,  105  ;  by  Raymond 
le  Gros,  206-8  ;  by  O'Brien  of 
Thomond,  319,  352  ;  by  the  Earl 
of  Kildare,  371  ;  by  Lord  Leonard 
Gray,  408  ;  besieged  by  Bruce, 
290  ;  paid  Black  Rent  to  O'Brien 
of  Ara,  399  ;  Reformers  efforts  at, 

435- 
Lincoln,  Earl  of,  357. 
Lindisfarne,  monastery  and  diocese 

of,  63. 
Lingard,  quoted,  3,  327.  355. 


Lismore     school      and     monastery 

of,  59,   14. 
Livinus,  St.,  66. 
Lollards,  423. 
Lovel,  Lord,  357 
Lough  Gur,  408. 
Lucy,  Sir  A.,  303. 
Luther,  Martin,  427. 
Luxueil,  monastery  of,  63. 
Lynch,  John,  quoted,  157,  195,  199. 

M 

Mac  Alpine,  Kenneth,  278. 
MacCarten,   343. 
MacCarthy,  Cormac,   168. 

of  Carbry,  374-5,  411. 

Lady  Eleanor,  395-6. 

MacCarthys,    200,    233,    255,    257, 

352,  371- 
MacCoghlin,  259. 
MacCuill,  41. 
MacDermotts,  the,  of  Moylurg,  228, 

231,  295,  321. 
MacDonnells,  the,  of  Antrim,  371. 
MacDunleavy,  217-18,  220. 
MacFirbis,  426. 
Macha,   15. 
MacLiag,  quoted,  97,  107,  112,  146  ; 

his  writings,   148. 
MacMahons,  the,  343,  374,  412. 
MacMurrogh,  Art,  the  elder,  325-6. 

Art,  326-36,  338. 

Dermot,   175-87. 

Donal,  302-3,  325. 

Donogh,  S38- 

Eva,   186. 

Maurice,  325. 

MacMurroghs,  the,    258,    312,    325, 

402,  407-8,  411,  415-16. 
MacNamaras,  the,  319,  417. 
MacPherson,  on  Ossian,    16. 
MacTurkill,  Hasculf,  of  Dublin,  191, 
MacWilliams,  the,  see  De  Burghos, 
Maelmorra,  King  of  Leinster,   108, 

113.    117- 
Maelmorra  (poet),  143. 
Maelnambo,  Dermot,   124. 
Maelruan,  St.,   59. 
Maeve,  Queen  of  Connaught,  55. 
Magee,  D'Arcy,  quoted,  330.  332. 
Magennis  of  Iveagh,  340,  343,  361, 

417. 


456 


INDEX. 


Mageoghegan,  330,  344,  410. 

the  historian,  1 2. 

Magh  Adhair,   108. 

Magillapatrick  of  Ossory,  122,  200, 
176,  408,  410,  416,  436. 

Magnus  of  Norway,   128. 

Magraiden,  426. 

Maguire,  the  AnnaHst,  426. 

Mahon,  King  of  Munster,  103-6. 

Malachy  I.,  92. 

Malachy  II.,  98-9,  108-11,  118,  123, 
152. 

Malachy,  St.,  149-54,  275. 

Malone,  Rev,  S,  and  Adrian's  Bull, 
194. 

Mandevilles,  the,  296. 

Mant,  quoted,  430. 

Mantle,  the  Irish,  314. 

Marianus  Scotus,   147. 

Marlborough's  Chronicle,  334. 

Marriages,  irregular,  in  the  Irish 
Church,   151. 

Marshall.  Richard,  253-4. 

William,  221,  242,  246. 

Martin,  St.,  33,   35. 

Mathew  Paris  and  Irish  Parlia- 
ments,   239. 

Maynooth,  391. 

Mayo,  school  and  diocese  of,  60,  426, 

Meath,  partitioned  by  Turlogh 
O'Connor,  132-3  ;  granted  to 
Hugh  de  Lacy,  2 10- 11  ;  paid 
Black  Rent  to  O'Connor  of 
Offaly,  399. 

Mellifont,  monastery  of,  275-6. 

Mendicant  Orders,  425. 

Merlin's  prophecy,  217. 

Metal  Work,  Ancient  Irish,  29,  162. 

Migdonians,  the,   5. 

Milcho,  and  St.  Patrick    34,  38. 

Milesians,  the,   10-18. 

Milesius,   11 -13. 

Mills,  in  Ancient  Ireland,  31. 

Mochua,  St.,  45. 

Molaise,  St.,  and  St.  Columba,  50  ; 

shrine  of,   163. 
Moling,  St.,  84. 

Molloy,  King  of  Desmond,  104-6. 
Molyneux    and    Irish    Parliaments, 

239. 
Monasteries,   plundered  by  Danes, 

90  ;  suppressed,  406,  433-5,    442. 
Monks,  46,  54,  60,  61,  70,  141,  148. 


Montalembert,  quoted,  63, 
Moran,  Cardinal,  quoted,  32,  36. 
Morris,  Rev.  W.  B.,  quoted  34,  36. 
Mortimer, Roger,  the  Elder,  286,  290 
Mortimer,  Roger,  the  Younger,  329 
Mosheim,  quoted,    145. 
Mountmaurice,  Hervey  de,  181,  186, 

191,  205, 
Mowbray,  Earl  of  Nottingham,  329. 
Muirchertach  of  the  Leather  Cloaks, 

98,   152. 
Music,  Irish  skill  in,  29,  157. 
Muskerry,   104. 

N 

Names,  Ancient,  of  Ireland,  3,  4. 
Nangle,  Adam,  303,  325. 

Bishop  of  Clonfert,  432,  439. 

Nemedians,  5,  6. 

Nemthur,  ^-i^. 

Nennius,  41. 

Nesta,     and     the     first      Norman 

invaders,  209. 
New  Ross,  281,  327. 
Nial,  son  of  Feniursa,  11. 

Glunduff,  97. 

of  the  Nine  Hostages,  17,34,37. 

Norfolk,  Duke  of,  381,  393. 
Normans,  the,   179,   198,  268. 
Northmen  ;    see  Danes. 
Northumbria,    converted   by    Irish 

monks,  62. 
Nuns,  48-9. 

O 

O'Brien  of  Ara,  399. 
O'Brien,  Connor,   132. 

Donal  (died,   1194),   185,   190, 

200,  205,  208,  215,  226-8. 
Donogh  (son  of  Brian  Boru), 


120-4. 

—  Donogh  (Ossory's  son-in-law), 
392,408-9,417. 

Maurice    (Earl   of   Thomoud), 


392,   394-6,  407-10,  413,  416-17, 
421,  437-8. 

—  Murrogh  (son  of  Brian  Boru), 
113,  117-18,  120. 

—  Murtogh    (King  of    Munster), 


127-9,   132. 

—  Teige,  352. 

—  Teige  (son  of  Brian  Boru),  123. 


J 


INDEX. 


457 


O'Brien,  Turlogh  (grandson  of  Brian 
Boru),   1 20. 

Turlogh  (King  of  Ireland),  124. 

Turlogh    (King  of  Thomond), 

134- 
O'Briens,  the,  of  Thomond,  255, 257, 

299.    319,    352,    371,    177,    399, 

404-5. 
O'Brien's  Bridge,  409-10,  413. 
O'Byrnes,  the,    235,     286-7,     300, 

303,  312,  333,  341,  408,  415-16. 
O'Caharney,  215. 
O'Carrols,  the,  of  Ely,  123,  142,  299, 

302,   308,   334,   371-2,   374,   376, 

381,  383,  410-11,  413. 
O'CarroUs,  the,  of  Oriel,   136,  200, 

218,  220. 
O'Connor  of  Connaught. 

Cahal  Carrach,  227-30. 

Cahal  Crovderg,  227-31,  236. 

Charles,   172. 

Connor  Mainmoy,  225-7. 

FeUm    (died,    1265),    246-250, 

255- 

Felim  (died,  13 16),  284-8. 

Murrogh,  223-5. 

Roderick    (Ardri),     136,     177, 

184-5,     187-90,     200,     206,     223, 

226-8. 

Rory,   124-5. 

Turlogh  the  Great,  130-6,  164, 


177. 


367- 


Turlogh  O'Connor  Don,   321, 


O'Connor  Don  (Author),  231. 

O'Connor  Roe,  321,  $6y,  ^yy. 

O'Connors,  the,  of  Connaught,  223- 
5^  31,   242-50,   255-6,   285-8,   294-9, 

312,  319-23,  351,  366. 
O'Connors,  the,  of  Offaly,  258,  302, 

335,  338,  341-2,  350,  361,  367-8, 

374,  376,  379-81,  383,  391-2,  399, 

407,  410-11,  413,  415,  417,  420, 

436. 
O'Curry,  quoted,  21-2,  29. 
O'Dea,  Connor,  299. 
O'Dempsey,  204,  345. 
Odin,  86. 
O'Doherty,  220. 
O'Donnell   of  Tirconnell,    Godfrey, 

252. 
Manus,  377,  395-6,  412,  416-17, 

420,  437,  439- 


O'Donnells,  the,  of  Tirconnell,  233, 
258,  294,  323,  328,  340.  352,  361-2 
366-8,  371,  374,  376-8,  382,  403-4. 

the,  of  Corcobascin,  107, 

O'Dowda,  244. 
O'Farrells,  the,  295-6,  352. 
Offaly,  411,  414. 

O' Flaherty  of  lar  Connaught,  228, 
244,  247. 

(Author),  6,  12,  13. 

O'Flynn  (poet),  143. 

Cumee,  218,  220. 

Ogham  writing,  29. 

Ogygia,  ancient  name  of  Ireland,  4, 

O'Hanlons,  the,  328,  361,  363-4. 

O'Hartigan  (poet)  143. 

O'Heynes,  the,  117,  247. 

O'Higgins  (poet),  336. 

O'Kellys,    the,    of     Hymany,    117, 

298-9,  321,  367. 
Olaf,  King  of  DubHn,  93,  95,  99. 
Oldcastle,  Sir  John,  423. 
Olden,  Rev.  T.,  152. 
Oliol  Olum,   102. 
OUave  Fola,   14. 
OUaves,  24. 
O'Loughhn,  Aedh,   135-6. 

Ardgar,   1 26. 

Con,   123,   148. 

Donal,  127-9,   ^33- 

O'Malone,    148. 

O'Mellaghlins,  the,  of  Meath,   126, 
129,  131,  133,  210,  242,  259,  308. 
O'Meyey,  215.^^  g^;:,-,:.    , 
O'Mores,  the,  of  Leix,  184,  287,  300, 
308,  338,  374,  376,  391-2,  407-8, 
411,  413,  420,  436. 
O'Muldory,  Flaherty,  220,  227. 
O'MuUoys,  the,  410. 
O'Neill,  coadjutor  bishop  of  Limer-    . 

ick,  435. 
O'Neill    of   Tyrone,    Con    (Earl   of 
Tyrone),  374,   377-9,  382-3,  396, 
399,  407,  412-13,  416-17,  437,  439. 

Donal,  279-91,  294. 

Flaherty,   114,   126. 

Henry,  360. 

O'Neills,    the,    of   Clanneboy,    294, 

399. 
O'Neills,  the,  of  Tirowen,  233,  242, 
255,   258,   294,   323-4,   328,   340. 
345,  352,  366,  403-4. 
O'Nolans,  the,  300,  302,  410. 


458 


INDEX. 


Ordericuo  Vitalis,  quoted,  266. 
Orders  of  Irish  Saints,  60. 
O'Reilly,  the,  328,  343,  412,  416,-17. 
Ormond,   Earls  of,   301,   309,   324, 

334,    339-42,    344-6,    361-2,    373, 

375-6,     379-81,    404,    414,    429, 

435-6. 

Sir  James,  361,  364. 

O'Rorke,  Tighernan,  177,  200,  203. 
O'Rorkes,  the,   114,   125,   134,  200. 
Ossian,   16. 
Ossory,  Earl  of,  381-4,  408-10. 

province  of,  183-4,  190,  424. 

O 'Toole,   Laurence,   Archbishop  of 

DubUn,   187,  201,  207,  263,  266, 

300, 

Turlogh,  419. 

O'Tooles,  the,  235,  287,   302,   308, 

341,  415-416. 


Pagan  Ireland,  literature  of,  29. 

Palatinates,  301-2. 

Pale,    the,    313,    326,    339-41,    347, 

349,  364,  365,  399. 
Palladius,  38. 

Pander,  the,  quoted,  398,  426-7. 
Paparo,  Cardinal,   154. 
Paresse,  betrays  Maynooth,  391. 
ParUaments,     Irish,     237-40,     305, 
312-317,    342,     344,    346-7,    349, 

350,  362,  416,  430. 
Parthalon,   5. 

Patrick,  monk  of  Glastonbury,  32, 
144. 

Patrick,  St.,  his  birth  and  early  life, 
33  ;  a  slave  in  Ireland,  34  ;  his 
escape,  education  abroad  and 
second  coming  to  Ireland,  35-7  ; 
his  missionary  labours,  38  ;  42, 
44  ;  describes  the  generosity  of 
the  Irish,  142  ;  his  death,  43,  his 
relics  scattered,  433. 

Paulinus,  62. 

Payne,  Bishop  of  Meath,  ^6^. 

Pelagianism  in  the  Irish  Church, 
68,   139. 

Pembridge,  Sir  R.,  406. 

Pestilence  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
308. 

Petrie,  on  the  Round  Towers,  17 1-3. 


Phallic     Theory     of     the     Round 

Towers,   172. 
Phoenicians,  the,   i. 
Picts,  the,   17,   51-2,  62. 
Pilgrimages  to  Rome,   153. 
Pinkerton,  quoted,   58. 
Piatt,  Danish  chief  at  Clontarf,  116. 
Plein-Phuttoge,  treaty  of,  108. 
Pliny,  his  knowledge  of  Ireland,  2. 
Plutarch,  4. 
Pole,  Cardinal,  and  the  Geraldines, 

396. 
Poynings,  Sir  Edward,  361-363. 
Poynings'  Law,  362. 
Prendergast,  Maurice  de,  181,  184, 

190. 
Prisoners,  treatment  of,  by  Henry 

VIII.,  394. 
Proctors  of  the  Clergy,  238,  430. 
Ptolemy,  his  Map  of  Ireland,  2. 


Q 

Quartadecimans,  69. 


R 

Rahan,  monastery  of,  59. 

Raths,  30. 

RathUn  Island,  279. 

Raymond  le  Gros,  185,  187,  189-90, 

205-9. 
Redchair,   106. 
Reeves,  Dr.,  quoted,  49,  53. 
Regan,  Maurice,  179,  183,  187,  211. 
Regnar  Lodbrog  and  Turgesius,  89. 
Remonstrance    of    Donal    O'Neill, 

277,  281-3. 
Revenue  of  the  Irish  Government, 

326,  341. 
Rhodanus,  St.,  y6. 
Rhymers,  outlawed,  349. 
Richard  I.,   198,  219. 
Richard    II.,    his    first    coming    to 

Ireland,       327-9  ;      his      second 

coming,  331-3. 
Richard     III.,     his     popularity    in 

Ireland,  355-6. 
Richmond,  Countess  of,  370. 
Rokeby  (Viceroy),  308. 
RoUo,  Duke  of  Normandy,  94. 
Romanesque,   Irish,    168. 


INDEX. 


459 


Rome  and  the  Early  Irish  Church, 

41,  67,   152. 
Roscommon,  castle  of,  257,  371. 
Round  Towers,   140,   170-3. 
Rumold,  St.,  71. 


Sacrifices,  human,  in  Pagan  Ireland, 
21. 

Sanders,  Bishop  of  Leighhn,  432. 

Satire,  poetic,  23,  336. 

Savages,  the,  of  Down,  294,  323  412. 

Scattery  Island,   107. 

Schools,  first  Christian,  45,  54. 

Schwartz-Martin,  357-8. 

Scotia,  4,   17,   18. 

Scots,   17,   18. 

Scribes,  45,   159. 

Scrope,  Sir  S.,  334. 

Sculpture,  Irish,  character  of,  170. 

Scythians,  the,  10,  13. 

Senchan,  56. 

Sept,  constitution  of,  20. 

Settlers,  English  adopt  Irish  man- 
ners and  customs,  297,  307,  313- 
14  ;  their  conduct  declared  illegal, 
342,  349,  362,  401. 
Shrines,  162. 

Sigurd,  Earl  of  Orkneys,  115. 
Simnel,  Lambert,  356-8. 
Sitric  of  Dublin,  115,  120,  130, 
Six  Articles,  the,  441. 
Skalds,  Scandinavian,  87. 
Skeffington,  Sir  W.,    381-3,  390-3. 
Skellig  Island,  88. 
Slaves  in  Ireland,  25. 
Slevin,  Chief  Bard,  no. 
SUgo,  251,  Z77- 
Stanley  (Viceroy),  336. 
Staples,  Bishop  of  Meath,  440. 
Stihcho,   17,   18. 
St.  Lawrence,  Sir  Armoric,  216. 
St.  Leger,  Sir  A.,  410,  415. 
Stokes,  Miss  M,,  66, 

Whitley,  33,  36-7. 

Stowe  Missal,   163. 

Strabo,  2. 

Strongbow,   178,  186,  91,  200-8. 

Suibne,   143. 

Surrey,  Earl  of,  373-5. 

Supremacy,  Act  of,  428,  431. 

Oath  of,  429,  432,  434,  436-9, 


Synods,  41,  70,  148,  154,  198,  201. 
262,  266,  425. 


T 

Tacitus,  3,  9,  30,  52,  255. 

Tain-bo-Cuailgne,   55. 

Talbot,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  339. 

Sir  John  (Earl  of  Shrewsbury), 

336-40,  342. 
Tallaght,  monastery  of,  59. 
Tanistry,  21,  418. 
Tara  brooch,  146. 

Feis  of,  14,  16,  22,  75,  82. 

Palace  of,  76. 

Psalter  of,  14. 

Teltown,  or  Tailtown,  assembly  of, 

23.   137- 
Thierry,  64. 
Thighernach,   14,   148. 
Thomond,  province  of,  102-3,  123, 

134,  250,  255,  257,  299,  319-20, 

352,  409- 
Thor,  87. 

Three  Orders  of  Saints,  60. 
Thule  Ultima,    18,  62, 
Tiptoft  (Viceroy),  347-8. 
Tirconnell   and   Tirowen,    wars   of, 
126,    134,     220,  251-3,  258,  323, 

353.  2>77-^' 

Tirrey,  Bishop  of  Cork,  432,  440. 
Tithes,  payment  of,  154. 
Tocomra,  assembly  of,  21. 
Tomar,  of  Limerick,  97. 
Tomar's  Wood,   116,   118. 
Tonsure,  Irish  form  of,  67. 
Trian,  Saxon,   139. 
Tribute,  forms  of,  26. 
Trim,  Parliament  held  at,  342,  350. 
Trinitarian  monasteries,  434. 
Tuam,  Archbishops  of,  425-6. 

School  of,  60. 

Tuathal,   15. 
Turgesius,  89,  91. 


U 

Ufford,  Sir  R,,  281,  306. 
Uisneach,  Assembly  of,  22. 
Uladh,  127,  136. 
Ulster,  province  of,  216,  401-2 
Usher,  quoted,  60,  152-3,  161 


460 


INDEX. 


Vallancey,   172. 
Virgilius,  St.,  66,  71. 
Vivian,  Cardinal,  217,  224. 

W 

Waagen,  Dr.,  161. 

Wace,  Master,   192. 

Warbeck,  Perkin,  363-4 

War  Cries,  307,  362. 

Ware,  quoted,  237,  391. 

Warner,  396. 

Wars  of  the  Roses,  406. 

Warwick,  Earl  of,  356. 

Warwick,    the    Kingmaker,    405. 

Water,    Mayor    of    Cork,    363. 

Waterford    City,     Strongbow    and 

Eva     MacMurrogh     married     at 

186  ;  taken  by  Henry  II.,  200  ; 

granted     to     the     Danes,     202  ; 

Richard  II,  landed  at,  327,  331  ; 

its    loyalty    to    England,    359. 


Westwood,     160,     162. 

Wexford  City,  captured  by  Anglo- 
Normans,  182  ;  retaken  by  Irish, 
190 ;  pays  Black  Rent  to  Art 
MacMurrogh,    354. 

White,     Stephen,     195. 

White  Book  of  the  Exchequer, 
368. 

Wilde,    Sir    William,    8. 

Wilfred,   Archbishop  of  York,   71. 

WilUam  of  Malmesbury,  quoted, 
198. 

William     the     Conqueror,      180, 
192,   265. 

Wiltshire,    Earl    of,    345. 

Windsor,    Treaty    of,    207,    233. 

Witchcraft,     424, 

Wolsey,  Cardinal,  m,  375,  379- 
82,    402. 

Women   in   Battle,    83. 

Worsae.   quoted,    140. 

Wyclyffe,     422-3. 

York,    Duke    of,    342-6. 
—  Richard    of,    363. 


A 


Date  Due 


X 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


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Aiic  9 ?   1996 


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